The People's Republic of China is home to one of the oldest civilizations in the world, existing over 5000 years. China, situated in East Asia between latitudes 35 degrees north and longitudes 105 degrees east occupies a total area of 9.6 million square kilometers; almost the entire central and eastern Asia. It is the most populated nations in the world. China is bound by Russia and Mongolia to the north; North Korea in the northeast; the former Soviet Republics of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan in the northwest; Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bhutan to the west and southwest; and Myanmar, Lao PDR and Vietnam to the south. The major cities of China are Beijing (capital), Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.

China has a diverse topography ranging from highlands to the coastal lowlands. China's relief is high in the west and low in the east, making the rivers flow eastwards draining into the East China Sea. Qinghai-plateau, known as the "roof of the world" with an average height of 16,500 feet, one of the highest points in the world is located here. The five major landforms found here are the mountains, plateaus, hills, plains and basins.

This diverse topography consequently affects the climate of China making it equally diverse ranging from extremely dry, desert-like conditions in the northwest to tropical monsoons in the southeast. Owing to this extreme climate China suffers from a variety of natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, landslides, droughts, typhoons, forest-fires etc. Among all these hazards, droughts, floods, earthquakes and typhoons are the most destructive.

Floods:

Floods are one of the most frequent hazards that affect China. Most of the floods occur in June-July. Since 1949, China has been struck by floods on an average of 5.8 times a year. The swelling of the four rivers, such as the Yangtze, Yellow, Huaihe and the Haihe rivers is one of the main causes for flooding. The area most affected by rainstorms and floods are the southeastern coastal regions, the Yangtze River and the Huaihe river valleys

Landslides:

On an average over 100 landslides occur annually. One of the main causes for landslides and cave breaks in deforestation.

Earthquakes:

Earthquakes occur mainly in the southwestern and the northwestern regions of China. China has suffered more that 50 earthquakes of force 7 or greater magnitude on the Richter's scale. According to statistics China accounts for about 50% of the global deaths by earthquakes. One possible cause attributed to this high death toll is that it affects a greater number of people, because of the high population.

Typhoons:

China has a coastline of more than 18,000 kms long, which is main area that suffers the most serious and frequent typhoon and windstorms. There are about twenty typhoons affecting the Chinese coastal areas every year, about seven of which land on an average.

Droughts:

Floods and droughts alternate every year. On average droughts are experienced 7 times a year. The agricultural areas of the eastern China encompassing the Yellow River and Huaihe River, Haihe river valleys, record a high frequency of droughts

Main Source: National Report of the People's Republic of China on Natural Disaster Reduction.

Links:

China Disaster Relief