China reports fewer casualties from natural disasters
By Hou Liqiang | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2023-01-06 12:01
Casualties caused by natural disasters nationwide hit a record low in 2022, despite increasing extreme weather events due to climate change and the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on rescue efforts, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.
Compared with the average of the previous five years, the number of people left missing or dead in natural disasters last year declined 30.8 percent, according to a media release issued by the ministry at the end of its annual work conference in Beijing on Thursday.
"It is the lowest since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949," the ministry said, without disclosing the specific number.
The direct economic losses caused by last year's disasters decreased by 25.3 percent, it added.
The ministry also noted significant decreases in the numbers of accidents and casualties in workplaces across the country. In 2022, accidents fell by 27 percent and casualties by 23.6 percent from 2021.
The ministry has adhered to the principle that "nothing is more precious than people's lives", as it strives to cope with frequent extreme weather events and an uptick in the number of extraordinarily serious accidents, it said.
The ministry organized 185 emergency consultations and launched 89 emergency responses in 2022, it said, adding that 114 work groups were dispatched to the frontlines to guide disaster relief work in floods, earthquakes, mountain fires and other incidents.