Survey allows experts to assess risks of disaster

Managing disaster risks has been key to mitigating the impacts of climate change and improving the resilience of human society, and the survey on natural disaster risks nationwide has provided crucial support, according to the China Meteorological Administration.

The management involves exploring consequences such as those that might be caused by 50 millimeters of rainfall hitting an area crisscrossed with rivers or an area with steep slopes and loose soil.

It also explores the impacts of temperatures above 37 C in places not prone to such weather.

In February, China released its survey results on the integrated risk of natural disasters, the first of its kind in the country aiming to help prevent disasters in the future.

The National Disaster Reduction Commission told a news conference that the results reveal the hidden risks posed by natural disasters and disaster resistance capacity in some key regions.

In 2020, the State Council, China's Cabinet, started the survey in which nearly 5 million professionals and technical staff members from across the country took part.

They obtained data about the factors that can lead to disasters such as earthquakes, extreme weather, floods and droughts, and forest and grassland fires. They also collected data related to population, housing, infrastructure, public service systems, resources and the environment.

Meteorological departments at national, provincial, city and county levels set up disaster risk survey groups.

They formed 20 technical specifications for surveying and assessed the zoning of 10 disaster types.

The survey results on natural disasters have been applied in some regions.

Last year, the Chongqing meteorological service identified areas that are vulnerable to rainstorm disasters, including scenic spots and agricultural parks, and equipped them with monitoring and warning systems.

Since 2020, villages in Yunnan province that are more likely to suffer from thunder and lightning disasters have been assessed and rated according to their risk levels.

About 94 percent of Yunnan's land area is mountainous with a high incidence of thunderstorms, the provincial meteorological service said.

The service has provided data and materials to designers and builders to help them mitigate the impacts of thunder and lightning in their work.

The Liaoning meteorological service investigated the agricultural meteorological conditions and production of crops in the province to solve disasters caused by low temperatures.

Forecast services for low-temperature frost that may cause damage to crops — based on a historical database of low-temperatures recorded by categories of county and time period — have been provided to local farmers.