The situation for geological disaster prevention and control remains severe, and vigilance must be strengthened this year
"Although last year's geological disaster situation was not serious, this year's prevention and control situation is not optimistic." A relevant official from the Ministry of Land and Resources said recently.
It is understood that in 2014, the number of deaths and missing persons and direct economic losses caused by geological disasters in China decreased significantly year on year. Last year, a total of 10,907 geological disasters occurred nationwide, causing 349 deaths, 51 missing persons, and 218 injuries, with direct economic losses of 5.41 billion yuan. Compared with 2013, the number of geological disasters in 2014, as well as the deaths and missing persons and direct economic losses they caused, all decreased significantly.
The official introduced that the overall trend of geological disasters in 2015 may be close to normal, with some local areas possibly worsening. China has many mountainous areas, complex terrain, developed geological structures, and widely distributed hidden geological disaster hazards. Especially in recent years, abnormal weather such as typhoons and heavy rainfall has occurred frequently, and earthquakes have been frequent, so the situation for geological disaster prevention and control remains severe. In the spring of 2015, the southwest and northwest regions are key areas for prevention; during the flood season, geological disasters will occur in large numbers, and most of the southern regions, especially the southwest, central south, and southeast coastal areas as well as parts of the northwest, will still be key areas for the occurrence and harm of geological disasters; in autumn and winter, the main focus should be on preventing geological disasters caused by human engineering activities in mountainous areas and by rainfall and snowmelt in the southwest region. "All regions must strengthen prevention and control of geological disasters caused by human activities such as water conservancy and hydropower projects, railways, highways, mining, and slope cutting for house building." The official emphasized.