World Map › Asia › People's Republic of China
Country
Map of People's Republic of China
Asia · Beijing
People's Republic of China spans the Eurasian, Amur and Yangtze plates. It has 9 volcanoes active over the last 10,000 years, 2 of which have erupted since 1900. Since 1900, 374 major earthquakes have been recorded, causing at least 714,518 deaths. Its exposure to natural hazards is 7.8 out of 10 (INFORM index), a very high level. Its overall risk index, which accounts for its ability to cope, is 2.9 out of 10.
- Capital
- Beijing
- Population
- 1,404,890,000
- Area
- 9,596,961 km²
- Continent
- Asia
Tectonic Plates
Natural Hazards
Exposure to natural hazards according to the European Commission's INFORM index, from 0 (very low) to 10 (very high), overall and for each type of hazard.
Overall Risk Index
This overall score combines hazard exposure with the vulnerability of the population (1.3 out of 10) and the lack of coping capacity (3.0 out of 10). A highly exposed but well-prepared country therefore gets a low overall score.
People Exposed Each Year
- 870,139to strong shaking (intensity VI and above)
- 3,993to destructive shaking (intensity VIII and above)
- 11,873to tsunamis
- 28,970,127to hurricane-force winds (category 1 and above)
- 21,681,628to river floods
- 6,836,498to coastal floods
Overall Risk Index Over Time
Hazard Levels
Hazard level assessed by ThinkHazard! (World Bank, GFDRR), meaning the likelihood of a damaging event, from very low to high.
- River FloodHigh
- Urban FloodHigh
- Coastal FloodHigh
- EarthquakeHigh
- LandslideHigh
- TsunamiHigh
- VolcanoHigh
- CycloneHigh
- Water ScarcityHigh
- Extreme HeatHigh
- WildfireHigh
Volcanoes (9)
Volcanoes active over the last 10,000 years; year of the last known eruption.
- Ashikule Volcanic Field 1951
- Hainan Volcanic Field 1933
- Wudalianchi 1776
- Longgang Group 350
- Arxan-Chaihe 0
- Jingpohu 520 BCE
- Tengchong 5,750 BCE
- Honggeertu ?
- Keluo Group ?
Major Earthquakes Since 1900
Earthquakes that caused deaths or significant damage, or of magnitude 7.5 and above (NOAA).
Deadliest
- 1976Ne: Tangshan · M 7.5242,769 deaths
- 1920Gansu Province, Shanxi Province · M 8.3235,502 deaths
- 2008Sichuan Province · M 7.987,652 deaths
- 1927Gansu Province · M 7.740,912 deaths
- 1974Yunnan And Sichuan Provinces, Chao-T'Ung · M 7.120,000 deaths
- 1970Yunnan Province, Vietnam: Hanoi · M 7.115,621 deaths
Regions
Regions with volcanoes, major earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones or famous faults.
Tropical Cyclones
288 major tropical cyclones have made landfall in People's Republic of China since 1950. The deadliest and most powerful are listed below.
- 2024Typhoon Yagi · 219 km/h784 deaths
- 2023Cyclone Mocha · 46 km/h463 deaths
- 1990Typhoon Yancy · 102 km/h216 deaths
- 1962Typhoon Wanda · 74 km/h183 deaths
- 1991Typhoon Amy · 167 km/h136 deaths
- 1987Typhoon Alex · 102 km/h126 deaths
- 2018Typhoon Mangkhut · 144 km/h59 deaths
- 2015Typhoon Soudelor · 102 km/h59 deaths
- 2018Tropical Storm Rumbia · 89 km/h53 deaths
- 2014Typhoon Rammasun · 232 km/h40 deaths
Sources : Natural Earth · Wikidata · INFORM Risk Index (1 September 2026 v 0.7.3), Commission européenne, CC BY 4.0 · NOAA NCEI · ThinkHazard!, GFDRR, CC BY · Bird (2003), PB2002 · Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution