The Emergency Management Department released the national natural disasters in the first quarter of 2023.

　　CCTV News:According to the website of the Emergency Management Department on April 10th, recently, the Emergency Management Department, together with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Health and Wellness Commission, the Bureau of Statistics, the Meteorological Bureau, the Grain and Reserve Bureau, the Forestry and Grass Bureau, the Red Cross Society of China, China State Railway Group Co.,Ltd. and other departments and units, discussed and analyzed the national natural disasters in the first quarter of 2023. In the first quarter, natural disasters in China were mainly drought, wind and hail, low temperature freezing and snow disaster, and floods, earthquakes, geological disasters, sandstorms and forest and grassland fires also occurred to varying degrees. A total of 4.722 million people were affected by various natural disasters, and 39 people died. More than 100 houses collapsed, more than 600 houses were seriously damaged, and more than 38,000 houses were generally damaged; The affected area of crops is 289.8 thousand hectares; The direct economic loss was 2.55 billion yuan.

　　The main features of national natural disasters in the first quarter are:

　　First, there is a continuous drought in winter and spring in southwest China, and the drought is heavier than the same period of last year.

　　Since the beginning of this year, the precipitation in most parts of southwest China has been less than 20% compared with the same period of normal years. Coupled with the high temperature in the same period, the drought in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and Chongqing has developed rapidly, and the agricultural production and urban and rural water supply in the local hilly areas have been affected to some extent, making it difficult for people and animals to drink water. The affected area of crops is 193 thousand hectares, mainly oil crops, vegetables and economic fruits. Due to drought, 970,000 people have been helped, and people with drinking water difficulties are mainly distributed in middle and high altitude mountainous areas. In mid-March, obvious precipitation occurred in Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou and other places, and the drought was alleviated to varying degrees. Generally speaking, the drought in the first quarter was heavier than that in the same period of last year.

　　Second, many places suffered from low-temperature freezing and snowstorms, and the avalanche in Linzhi, Xizang caused heavy casualties

　　In the first quarter, there were 12 cold air processes in China, slightly more than normal. Among them, four processes reached the cold wave level. January 13th & ndash; On the 16th, the cold air process was a national cold wave process, which was affected by cooling, rain and snow caused by the cold wave. Chongqing, Yunnan and other places suffered from low-temperature freezing and snowstorm, and the affected area of crops was 10.8 thousand hectares. March 11th & ndash; On the 14th, the temperature in most parts of Henan province plummeted, and heavy snow fell in some areas, resulting in frostbite and reduced production of economic forest and fruit crops, resulting in an agricultural economic loss of 350 million yuan. On the whole, compared with the average value of the same period in recent five years, the direct economic losses caused by low-temperature freezing and snowstorm in the first quarter were obviously lighter. In addition, on January 17th, an avalanche occurred at the exit of Duoxiongla Tunnel on Paimo Highway in Linzhi City, Xizang, and some vehicles and personnel were buried, resulting in 28 deaths.

　　Third, the wind and hail disaster affected the southern region, and sandstorms broke out in the north.

　　1– In February, there was no regional strong convective weather process in China, and Yunnan, Xizang and other places suffered from wind and hail disasters. In late March, the first large-scale strong convective weather process occurred in southern China this year. Strong winds, hail, thunderstorms and short-term heavy rainfall occurred in parts of southern China. More than 30,000 houses in Jiangxi and Fujian were damaged, and some agricultural greenhouses, vegetables and cash crops were affected. In the first quarter, there were six sandstorm weather processes in China, four of which occurred in March. March 19th & ndash; On the 23rd, the strongest sandstorm weather process occurred in the northern region this year, with floating dust or sand blowing in 10 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) such as Inner Mongolia, Beijing, Gansu and Xinjiang, and local sandstorms, which had adverse effects on transportation, urban operation and people’s health.

　　Four, a moderate earthquake occurred in the western region, which did not cause great losses.

　　In the first quarter, there were 22 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or above in mainland China, including 6.0– Grade 6.9 once, 5.0– 5.9 twice, mainly concentrated in Xinjiang, Sichuan, Xizang and other places. Among them, the Shaya M6.1 earthquake in Xinjiang on January 30 and Wensu M5.1 earthquake in Xinjiang on February 27, the epicentres were located in sparsely populated areas, which did not cause great disaster losses. On January 26th, Sichuan Luding earthquake with magnitude of 5.6 caused no casualties.

　　Five, the southern region suffered from floods, and geological disasters occurred frequently in central and southern regions.

　　March 20th & ndash; On the 25th, a large-scale heavy rainfall occurred in the southern region, involving a wide range, long duration and heavy accumulated rainfall, and floods occurred in Fujian and Hunan. According to the flood season standard, China entered the flood season on March 24, 8 days earlier than the average flood season for many years. According to statistics, there were 97 geological disasters in the first quarter, mainly small collapses and ground collapses. In addition, on March 16th, the entire frozen reach of the Yellow River opened, and the ice flood season lasted for 108 days, and the ice flood situation was generally stable, and no serious ice flood disaster losses occurred.

　　6. The overall situation of forest and grassland fires is stable.

　　In the first quarter, there were 148 forest fires in China, with 2 people killed and 794 hectares of forest affected. From the time point of view, March entered the high incidence period of forest fires, and 87 forest fires occurred, accounting for 59% of the first quarter; Geographically, forest fires are distributed in many places, paying equal attention to the north and south, mainly in Guangxi, Hubei, Guizhou, Henan, Hebei and other places. There were two grassland fires, one in Gansu and one in Inner Mongolia, and the affected grassland area was about 310 hectares.