Heavy snowfall22 strong earthquakesincluding a magnitude 7.1 in northwestern Xinjiang, landslides and mudslides in southwestern regions and floods On the Yellow River and in the southern provinces, they joined the charge.
Among the 32.38 million people affected are: 322 who died or disappearedthe ministry said at a press conference. Around 856,000 people faced emergency resettlement, 23,000 houses were destroyed and around 3.17 million hectares of crops were damaged.
The number of people affected compares with just 48.76 million people for the whole of 2023, when 95 people died or went missing, according to the ministry’s report last year.
The effect and economic cost of natural disasters
He impact on the economy in January-June This year’s economy was also worse than the same period last year, when the country recorded losses worth 38.23 billion yuan (about 1.8 billion yuan). US$5 billion). It was the largest disaster-related loss in the first half since 2019, according to data available on the website of the Ministry of Emergency Management.
China has experienced greater changes in temperature which have broken historical records in recent years, while precipitation (rain or snow) has become more erratic, signs that point to the impact of climate change in the country.
The funds channeled to the disaster management have reached 4.17 billion yuan (US$575 million) so far this year, according to a Reuters tally, with 546 million yuan allocated last month (US$75 million) for the agricultural production and disaster relief.
China drought.JPG
Reuters
How did floods and droughts affect agricultural production?
The long periods of freezing weather and heavy snow in the winter months, severely affected people and their livelihoods, he said. Ministry Spokesperson, Shen Zhanli.
Parts of southern China, such as the region of GuangxiGuangdong and Fujian provinces, were severely affected by frequent and extreme rainfall as the annual rainy season started earlier than usual. Dozens of people have died from the rains. floods or landslides caused by the rains.
At about the same time, droughts developed fairly rapidly and covered large areas in the north and around the North China Plain, affecting local agricultural production. At the height of the drought, about 100,000 people were left without food. 6.2 million hectares of agricultural land faced moisture shortages compared to the average of 2.67 million hectares in other years.
But the Losses were limited as many of the affected areas had better irrigation and water storage systems, the ministry said. The dry season affected about 1,000 hectares of 1.29 million people in 10 northern provinces, resulting in an economic loss of 1.46 billion yuan, lower than the average for the same period.
With the arrival of the summer flood season, all types of risks have increased significantlythe ministry said, emphasizing the need a greater sense of responsibility and urgency in security, disaster prevention and mitigation, and relief work.
Source: Ambito
