|
The
losses in August totaled 34.19 billion yuan, according to data
from China's Ministry of Emergency Management on Wednesday,
adding to the steep 41.18 billion yuan losses in July, the start
of an unusually wet summer in China.
Northern China, including Beijing, were the hardest hit by
floods after record rainfall from Typhoon Doksuri. Overall,
close to 8.9 million people nationwide were affected by natural
disasters last month including floods, while 168 people were
either killed or went missing.
"When typhoons make their way deeper into inland regions, they
tend to yield more pronounced losses," said Shao Sun, a
climatologist at the University of California, Irvine.
"A primary contributing factor is the relative lack of
historical exposure of inland areas to typhoons, thus weakening
their defense mechanisms."
Barely having recovered from last month's floods, China is
bracing for more powerful storms and rain in September.
Parts of northeastern Heilongjiang province and western Xinjiang
region could see as much as 50% more rain than normal this
month, the emergency management ministry warned on Sept. 1.
Meanwhile, southern China including Guangdong and Fujian
provinces have been hit by two typhoons over four days since
Sept. 2, which brought violent winds and dumped record rainfall
that forced the evacuation of tens of thousands.
"The most powerful typhoons to make landfall in Guangdong,
Hainan, Fujian, and Hong Kong since 1949 have typically occurred
in September. Therefore, it's crucial to strengthen vigilant
monitoring, preemptive warnings, and risk mitigation strategies
in the southern regions of China," said Sun.
($1 = 7.3086 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Ethan Wang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
