Meteorological disaster frequency at prefecture-level city scale and induced losses in mainland China during 2011–2019

Meteorological disasters (MDs), including drought, flood, hail, low temperature and frost (LTF), are causing severe damage to human life and economic development in China. Mapping the distribution of MDs and induced losses at fine spatial resolution across the whole country is helpful for disaster control. Based on the officially published records and yearbooks, the spatiotemporal variations in MD frequency at prefecture-level city scale and disaster-induced losses at provincial scale during 2011–2019 were analyzed. The result showed that there were average 1416.9 MD events every year at prefecture-level city scale. Flood and hail disasters dominated from April to September, while LTF disasters dominated from December to February. Drought disasters were mainly distributed at the second terrain step and North China Plain; frequency of flood disasters in the south part of China was higher than that in the north part of China, especially in the upper and middle reaches of Yangtze River basin; while the north part of China experienced higher frequency of hail and LTF than the south part. Cities on the second terrain step of China experienced the largest MD frequency because of the combination of disaster-causing factors and hazard-bearing body. Disaster loss analysis results showed that drought disasters had the severest effects on cropland because of the highest average covered and failed area of cropland among four MDs. Hunan, Hubei and Sichuan provinces experienced higher values of covered population and direct economic losses, while coastal provinces experienced less exposure to MDs. The results of this study can help optimal allocation of disaster mitigation and adaptive measures at both country and regional scales.