September 9 (Xinhua) — According to the official WeChat account of the Ministry of Emergency Management, recently the Office of the National Disaster Prevention, Reduction and Relief Committee, together with relevant member units, conducted consultations and verification on the national natural disaster situation in August 2024. In August, China's natural disasters were mainly rainstorms and floods, geological disasters, and wind and hail, while droughts, earthquakes, and forest fires also occurred to varying degrees. Various natural disasters affected 8.436 million person-times across the country to varying degrees, causing 107 deaths and missing persons, and 277,000 person-times were urgently relocated; more than 2,400 houses collapsed and 58,000 houses were damaged; the affected crop area was 1,455.7 thousand hectares; and direct economic losses amounted to 42.48 billion yuan.

　　The main characteristics of national natural disasters in August were as follows:

1. Heavy rainfall processes showed a pattern of "more in the north and south, less in the middle," with strong local extremes

In August, there were 5 large-scale rainfall processes nationwide, with an average precipitation of 92.3 millimeters, 10% less than the same period in normal years. First, the distribution of heavy rainfall was "more in the north and south, less in the middle." Heavy rainfall processes were mainly concentrated in Northeast China, North China, eastern Northwest China, southern Jiangnan, and South China. The average precipitation in the Liaohe River Basin was 29% more than the same period in normal years, while the average precipitation in the Yangtze River Basin was 42% less than the same period in normal years. Second, many small and medium-sized rivers exceeded warning levels, and some dikes experienced dangerous situations. The flood situation of major rivers was stable. Rivers in 25 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities), including Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning, saw 228 rivers exceed warning levels, with the number of exceedances higher than the same period in normal years. Dike breaches occurred in the Wanghe River in Liaoning, the Laoha River in Inner Mongolia, and the Xifu River in Guangdong. Third, local rainfall was highly extreme and caused repeated disasters. Daily precipitation at 99 national stations nationwide reached the standard for extreme events, and 14 stations, including Yangshan in Liaoning and Jingchuan in Gansu, broke historical records, triggering flash floods, mudslides, landslides, and other disasters. Localities in Shaanxi, Liaoning, and other places were repeatedly affected.

　　2. Rainstorm and flood disasters showed a pattern of "severe in the north, light in the south," while geological disasters in the southwest were scattered and frequent

In August, rainstorm and flood disasters nationwide showed a pattern of "severe in the north, light in the south." From late July to mid-August, Jilin, Liaoning, Heilongjiang, and other places in Northeast China were successively hit by rainstorm and flood disasters, affecting 2.3 million people to varying degrees. In Huludao City, Liaoning, 25 people died or went missing due to the disasters. In some areas, urban and rural waterlogging and infrastructure damage were severe, and continuous rainy weather aggravated local farmland waterlogging. In Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, and other places in Northwest China, 797,000 people were affected to varying degrees, 18 people died or went missing, and direct economic losses reached 3.85 billion yuan. In Southwest China, secondary disasters such as landslides and mudslides occurred frequently and in scattered locations, with heavy local casualties. On August 3, a flash flood and mudslide disaster in Kangding, Sichuan, caused 27 deaths and missing persons. Overall, in August, rainstorms, floods, and geological disasters affected 4.865 million person-times nationwide, caused 90 deaths and missing persons, collapsed more than 2,300 houses, and caused direct economic losses of 37.11 billion yuan.

　　3. Wind and hail disasters affected East China, Northwest China, Southwest China, and other places

In August, there were 3 regional severe convective weather processes nationwide, mainly characterized by short-duration heavy rainfall and thunderstorms with strong winds, causing local casualties and losses to agriculture and other property. On August 11, a pavilion in Changzhou, Jiangsu, collapsed after being struck by lightning, causing 6 deaths; on August 27, strong winds caused a house collapse in Linyi, Shandong, causing 3 deaths. In Inner Mongolia, Yunnan, Shaanxi, and other places, 141 thousand hectares of crops were affected, local facility agriculture was damaged, and economic forest and fruit crops lodged or suffered total crop failure, with direct economic losses of 2.05 billion yuan. Overall, in August, wind and hail disasters affected 1.242 million person-times to varying degrees, caused 17 deaths, affected 204.4 thousand hectares of crops, and caused direct economic losses of 2.67 billion yuan.

　　4. Agricultural drought in the north was basically alleviated, while meteorological drought began to emerge in the southwest

In August, the national average temperature was 22.6°C, 1.5°C higher than the same period in normal years. High-temperature processes were mainly in southern China, with a wide impact range, long duration, and strong extremes. The northern region experienced multiple precipitation processes, and the earlier drought in Shanxi, western Gansu, southeastern Xinjiang, central Inner Mongolia, western Heilongjiang, and other places was basically alleviated or lifted. The southwest region was mainly warm and dry, with average precipitation lower than the same period in normal years. Meteorological drought began to emerge and develop in western Guizhou, eastern Sichuan, northeastern Yunnan, and other places, affecting 702,000 people to varying degrees and affecting 27.4 thousand hectares of crops.

　　5. The situation of typhoons, earthquakes, and forest fires was stable

In August, 6 typhoons formed in the Northwest Pacific and the South China Sea, but no typhoon made landfall in China. There were 3 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or above in mainland China, and seismic activity was relatively weak. The highest-magnitude event was a magnitude 5.0 earthquake in Kuqa, Xinjiang, on August 22, which caused no disaster losses; a magnitude 4.6 earthquake in Pu'er, Yunnan, on August 20 caused slight damage to some houses and facilities. In addition, according to preliminary statistics, there were 10 forest fires nationwide in August, including 4 in Zhejiang and 2 each in Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, and Chongqing; no grassland fires occurred.