Natural Disaster System in China

Abstract

Due to the complicated geological and climatic conditions, China is one of the countries in the world that are most frequently and severely affected by natural hazards, and an increasing trend of disaster losses has been observed over the past decades. This chapter systematically examines the natural disaster system of China. The environmental conditions that are inductive to the occurrence of natural hazards, including the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere are first discussed. Then, the types, intensity, and spatiotemporal patterns of major natural hazards in China are presented. After that, characteristics of the main exposure units, including population, urban settlements, transportation system, economy, and land use are discussed. The temporal trends and spatial characteristics of disaster losses including casualty, collapsed buildings, losses in agricultural production, and directly economic losses, are then systematically presented. Finally, natural disaster risks in China are analyzed.