China may see more natural disasters caused by climate change
By Sun Ye, Han Weihua
Photo via SCIO

Photo via SCIO

China's emergency management authorities say the country could brace more natural disasters, caused mainly by climate change. Officials from the Ministry of Emergency Management also said at in a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday that a set of effective countermeasures are already in place to brave damages and for rescue and relief operations.

Vice-minister Zheng Guoguang said that China faces a "severe basic situation" when it comes to natural disasters. "Except for volcanic eruptions, almost all kinds of natural disasters have struck China, to the vast areas of the country."

"They happen at a comparatively high frequency. For example, China see the most number of earthquakes each year in the whole world."

Zheng also said climate change contributes to a higher occurrence rate of natural disasters like floods and typhoons. More populous and economically vibrant areas in southeast China are more prone to the climate-change-induced disasters.

Zheng Guoguang, vice-minister of Emergency Management, speak at a press conference in Beijing, September 18, 2019. /CGTN Photo

Zheng Guoguang, vice-minister of Emergency Management, speak at a press conference in Beijing, September 18, 2019. /CGTN Photo

The ministry, as well as other departments, have been working to optimize a collaborative system to meet the needs.

"The ministry has been building a collaborative response system with other departments and institutions. And we have sought out a tried-and-true set of rescue tactics that have worked effectively especially against typhoons, floods, dammed lakes and forest fires. Our goal is to cut the loss as much as we can," said Vice-minister Sun Huashan.

Natural disasters once killed more than 7,000 people each year in the 1950s. In 2018, the number dropped to a bit more than 1,000.

Direct economic loss per annual GDP from such events has dropped more than 50 percent since 2013.

The ministry also oversees safety in production, including mining and chemical production.

Sun said while the number of safety accidents in production environments has dropped in the last decade, there are still "severe threats."

On March 21, a chemical plant blast in Xiangshui County, eastern China's Jiangsu Province, killed 78 people.

"With new industries coming along fast, accidents that are unexpected or unknown are prone to take place," said Sun.

He said it's a priority to raise safety awareness and enhance training for individual workers. He also suggested that more autonomous robots could be employed to spare humans from risks.