For decades now, China has been plagued by natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, tsunamis and earthquakes. According to the Chinese Ministry of Emergency Management, China has suffered a direct economic loss of 88.81 billion yuan (USD 13.13 billion) due to natural disasters, in the first half of 2022.
“From January to June, floods and hailstorms were the major natural disasters in China, while droughts, freezing weather, earthquakes, snow disasters, and forest and grassland fires also occurred to varying degrees,” Shen Zhanli, spokesperson for the Chinese ministry was quoted by news agency ANI.
At least 39.14 million people were reported to be affected by natural disasters during this period. It was also revealed that the natural disasters have caused the displacement of about 1.28 million, while 178 residents were reported to be either dead or missing. The ministry also said that 3.62 million hectares of cropland were damaged by natural disasters.
6 dead, 12 missing in Sichuan province
Meanwhile, six people were killed, while 12 were reported missing after heavy rainstorms triggered mountain torrents in South-West China’s Sichuan province on Sunday after water levels of some rivers rose sharply.
Following the incident, Chinese authorities dispatched more than 400 rescue workers to search for those reported missing, repair roads and communication facilities and conduct other rescue operations, ANI reported.
While on Saturday, eight people were killed after a decorative building structure fell from a height of about 12 meters in North China’s Hebei Province adding to the number of catastrophic incidents occurring in China recently.
China sees record heat and rain in several parts
Some regions in China is battling its worst heatwave in decades. With a sudden shot up in the mercury, China is currently fighting an extreme heatwave situation with authorities issuing high-temperature warnings for northeastern provinces of the country. Simultaneously, the country is also experiencing seasonal flooding, predominantly in its southern part, causing misery for hundreds of thousands as the devastating rainfall is breaking all historical records.
Meanwhile, COVID is another challenge that the country is facing at the moment. With severe heat and the spread of COVID cases, it has become extremely difficult for the Chinese health workers to continue with their task wearing PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) suits. Many COVID workers were reported to be collapsing on the ground from heatstroke.