Spatial and temporal characteristics of four main types of meteorological disasters in East China

Abstract

Based on the disaster census data of four types of meteorological disasters (floods induced by rainstorms, droughts, damages due to low temperatures and high temperatures and heat waves) in 637 counties (districts) of East China, the spatial distribution and inter-annual variation in the number of records and the amount of impacts or losses caused by the four types of disasters were analyzed. The results indicate that rainstorm-induced flood disasters had the largest number of records and the largest affected population, death population, affected crop, total crop failure and direct economic loss in East China. The yearly percentage of affected population and direct economic loss caused by the four types of meteorological disasters increased significantly at rates of 1.4 and 2.2% per decade, respectively, but the deaths decreased significantly at a rate of 2.2% per decade during 1984-2010. There was no statistical significance in the percentage change of affected crop area and total crop failure area in East China. Spatially, the total number of people affected by the four types of meteorological disasters was higher in Anhui and Jiangxi, and the deaths were more in southern Anhui, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Fujian. Both the affected area and the total failure area of crops were higher in northern Anhui, eastern Jiangsu and eastern Shandong, and the direct economic losses were higher in the southern part of East China and Anhui province.