title: Emergency Response to and Preparedness for Extreme Weather Events and Environmental Changes in China.
abstract: China has achieved impressive rapid economic growth over the past 30 years but accompanied by significant extreme weather events and environmental changes caused by global change and overfast urbanization. Using the absolute hazards index (AHI), we assessed the spatial distribution patterns and related health effects of 4 major extreme natural disasters, including drought, floods (landslides, mudslides), hails, and typhoons from 2000 to 2011 at the provincial level in China. The results showed that (1) central and south China were the most affected by the 4 natural disasters, and north China suffered less; (2) the provinces with higher AHI suffered most from total death, missing people, collapse, and emergently relocated population; (3) the present health emergency response system to disasters in China mainly lacks a multidisciplinary approach. In the concluding section of this article, suggestions on preparedness and rapid response to extreme health events from environmental changes are proposed.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences Department of International Health, Maastricht University, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: National Disaster Reduction Center of Ministry of Civil Affairs of Peoples' Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yongfeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
authors.forename: Linsheng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
authors.forename: Hairong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute for Environmental Health and Related Product Safety, China CDC.
authors.forename: Bixiong
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences wangwy@igsnrr.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Wuyi
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D057231:Climate Change; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004190:Disasters; D006801:Humans; D062206:Spatial Analysis; D014507:Urbanization; D014887:Weather
keywords: absolute hazards index; disaster; environmental change; extreme health event; preparedness; response