133Wind Disasters and Mitigation Activities in China
Xinyang JIN* and Yalin YAN
Institute of Building Structures, China Academy of Building Research
No. 30, Beisanhuan Donglu, Beijing 100013, P. R. China*e-mail: jinxinyang@cabrtech.com

Abstract
Extreme winds are one of the most severe natural disasters, causing massive losses of human life andpossessions in China. This paper gives an overview on wind disasters in China, covering extreme-wind climates, affected areas, hazard phenomena and losses. It is clear that, though almost all kinds of extreme-windclimates have existed in China, the main wind hazard is typhoons. The paper analyzes and predicts trends inwind disasters and losses occurring in China. It provides a rough discussion of the relationship between
global warming and tropical cyclones landing in China as an attempt to present what information is available, though it is hard to form any conclusion. It also briefly introduces some significant activities andmajor research plans on wind engineering and hazard mitigation initiated and supported by the Chinese
government and Natural Science National Foundation. It is encouraging to note that the trends in losses oflife caused by severe wind disasters in mainland China appear to have declined over the recent decade
thanks to the efforts of the Chinese government and authorities.
Key words: hazard mitigation, tropical cyclone, wind disaster1. Introduction
Extreme winds are one of the most severe and frequent natural disasters, threatening human life andpossessions worldwide. China, as one of the countries
most severely suffering from wind disasters, experiencesa mean financial loss of about 20 billion RMB every
year (Zhou, 2004). As a large country, 9.6 million square
kilometers in area, China has seen and recorded almost
all kinds of destructive wind climates. Tropical cyclones
and typhoons generated in the Northwest Pacific andSouth China Sea constitute the main wind hazard in thesoutheastern coastal area, sometimes reaching the middle of mainland of China. Cold front wind storms,
which form mostly in the area of Siberia and are usuallyaccompanied by sand or dust storms, frequently occur inthe north and northwestern areas of China. Damage
from thunderstorms and tornadoes is also reported in thecentral area of mainland China.
More than half of the tropical cyclones (including
typhoons) landing in or affecting China cause tremendous losses to communities according records of the lastcentury. Significant damage and losses of human life,
agricultural and fishery resources, dwellings and civilengineering facilities caused commonly by floods,
surges and mudflows as the subsequent effects of
typhoons, are severe and frequent occurrences in China.
It has been widely recognized in China that typhoons
are the main cause of wind hazards. Therefore, thisGlobal Environmental Research
13/2009: 133-140
printed in Japan

paper will focus solely on tropical cyclones and theirrelated disasters.
Global warming is an undeniable fact for all residents on our planet. The phenomenon of increasing
frequency and intensity of typhoons or hurricanes inrecent decades has attracted the attention of researchers
and authorities in the fields of wind engineering andmeteorology. Whether nor not there is any relationshipbetween these two atmospheric phenomena has been
discussed and debated (McCullough & Kareen, 2007;
Kim et al., 2007).
In line with the development of the economy, an increasing trend of possession losses has emerged in thelast two decades in China. The Chinese government andauthorities are paying more and more attention to research on wind engineering and measures for winddisaster mitigation. Supported by the Chinese National
Key Technology R&D Program and Natural Science
National Foundation, several major research projects
relating to wind disaster mitigation have been initiatedin recent years, which are concerned mainly with on-sitemeasurement and meteorology of typhoons; wind resistance of structures including high-rise buildings,
long-span bridges and roofs; guidelines on constructionof farm houses and planning of villages. It appears thatlosses of life and collapses of houses in China in recent
decades have declined owing to the efforts of theChinese government and specialists.
This paper gives an overview on wind disasters in©2009 AIRIES134

X. JIN and Y. YAN

China covering extreme-wind climates, affected areas,
losses and hazard phenomena. Trends in wind hazards
occurring in China are analyzed and predicted and therelationship between global warming and the intensityand frequency of tropical cyclones landing in China are
discussed roughly. Some significant activities on windhazard mitigation initiated by the Chinese government
are introduced briefly. We are delighted to note thatlosses of life due to severe wind disasters have decreased in recent years due to the efforts of the Chinese
government and authorities.

2. Tropical-cyclone-induced Disasters andLosses in China
2.1 Frequency, intensity and prevalent paths
Table 1 (Wang et al., 2006) shows statistics on total
and landed tropical cyclones.
Table 1 Statistics on total and landed tropical cyclones.
19511961197119811991Period
1960
1970
1980
1990
2004
Total
342
409
353
329
412
Landed
178
192
183
172
203
in China
Percent
52
46.9
51.8
52.3
49.3
(%)

Figure 1 shows the frequency of tropical cyclones
affecting various places in China. It appears clear that,though the affected range has extended to the middle ofthe mainland, the most severely impacted area is along
the southeastern coast and islands of China. Figure 2
shows the distribution of maximum wind speeds oftropical cyclones in China (except Taiwan). It can benoticed that in the coastal area and islands of China,
which are most heavily colored in the figure, the maximum wind speeds are over 40 m/s, and there is no doubtthat most of the losses arising from wind disasters haveoccurred in this area. It is known that heavy rain accompanying tropical cyclones is a vital factor in thelosses. Figure 3 shows the distribution of rainfall tropical cyclones bring to China. Figure 4 shows theapproach paths of tropical cyclones landing in China. It
has been widely recognized that there exist three main
paths of tropical cyclones moving toward China, namely
the southern, northern and middle. In the spring and lateautumn, tropical cyclones usually arrive in China via thesouthern and northern paths, and via the middle one in
the interim. (Shanghai Typhoon Institution of CMA,
2006)
2.2 Disaster occurrences and phenomena
Various phenomena, such as injuries and losses ofhuman life, collapses of and damage to buildings andhouses, losses of agricultural crops and fishery products

Fig. 1 Spatial distribution of tropical cyclones affecting China.

Wind Disasters and Mitigation Activities in China

Fig. 2 Spatial distribution of the maximum high winds caused by typhoon in China.

Fig. 3 Spatial distribution of annual precipitation caused by typhoon with different intensity in China.

135

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X. JIN and Y. YAN

Fig. 4 Approach paths of tropical cyclones affecting China.

Fig. 5 Damage to residential houses caused by Typhoon
Sanmei (0608). (web photo)Fig. 6 Flood brought by Typhoon Linfai (0304) in Pingyuan.
(web photo)Fig. 7 Mudflow caused by Typhoon Kaemi (0605) inZhejiang Province. (web photo)and destruction of civil engineering works and electric
power facilities, are included among disasters inducedby tropical cyclones which have occurred in different
parts of China. Damage was caused by strong winds andaccompanying heavy rain, flooding, mudflows andstorm surges.
Here are some typical examples of tragedies. Figure
5 shows typical damage to a farmer’s house in a village
in Fujian Province hit by Typhoon Sanmei (0608).
Figure 6 gives an impressive image of a flood brought
by Typhoon Linfai (0304) impacting a village in Guangdong Province in the spring of this year. Figure 7 showsa collapsing building in Zhejiang Province caused by amudflow from Typhoon Kaemi (0605).

Wind Disasters and Mitigation Activities in China

2.3 Losses of human life and possessions
As a major natural disaster in China, typhoons havecaused great losses of human life and economic damage
every year. A tally of total losses in recent years in
China according to data from the Year Book of Tropical
Cyclones is shown in Table 2. Some severe typhoons
and corresponding details on losses are listed in Table 3.
Table 2 Losses caused by typhoons in mainland China.
Year
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007

Collapsedhouses(×104)
1346.7
176.5
721.1
578.2
6.145
201.5
234.4
143.2
168.9
166.39
83.8
22.21
25.8
3.24

Deaths &missing
1815
217
1430
347
6
259
179
462
26
48
494
477
1486
92

Losses(billion RMB)
72.55
17.20
97.00
53.45
2.20
19.70
17.65
69.19
12.50
24.00
23.00
78.00
76.00
28.40

Table 3 Some typical typhoons and corresponding losses.
Year
2005
2006

Name & No.

Influenced region

Longwang,
0519
Saomai, 0608

Fujian, Zhejiang,
Jiangxi
Fujian, Zhejiang
Guangdong, Zhejiang,
Fujian, Hunan, Jiangxi
Fujian, Zhejiang,
Shanghai, Jiangsu
TaiwanFujian, Zhejiang,
Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu

Sepat, 0708
2007
Wipha, 0712
Morakot,
0908

2009

(a)

Death &
Missing

Losses(Billion
RMB)

149

7.478

483

19.65

47

6.7

8

6.62

695

17.5

>8

>10

137

It is shocking to see that more than 80 residents’ lives
were taken by mudflows caused by Typhoon Longwang(0519) in Fujian Province.
2.4 Trends in tropical cyclones and losses
China is inevitably affected by global warming. As it
has been noticed and debated in America and othercountries, the relationship between global warming andthe frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones has also
attracted notice from Chinese authorities and researchers.
Though there is not enough solid support to draw any
conclusions yet, there is accumulating evidence, andclimate data are being collected and analyzed in China.
Figure 8 provides a histogram and trend curve of
tropical cyclones affecting China and losses in the recent two decades. As is known, different trends areappearing and it is hard to predict and judge the relationship between tropical cyclones and global warming. It
seems contrary that the frequency of tropical cyclones
affecting China is decreasing while the economic losses
are increasing (Fig. 8(a), (b)). This may be explained by
the fact that in coastal areas of China industrial activities
are growing rapidly. Deaths and missing persons haveresulted mainly from the collapse of buildings and fromfloods and mudflows. Methods widely used by Chinese
local governments include evacuating people from themost dangerous regions or transferring residents fromunsafe houses and buildings to safe ones. These have
proven a very effective way to prevent or mitigate
deaths and injuries of humans. We are glad to see thatthe trend in deaths and injuries in recent years in China
appears to be decreasing (Fig. 8(d)).
(b)

Year

(c)

Year

(d)

Year

Year

Fig. 8 Trends in tropical cyclones and losses in mainland China.
(a) Frequency, (b) House collapse, (c) Economic losses, (d) Death and missing of human life

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X. JIN and Y. YAN

3. Activities to Mitigate Wind Disasters in
China
3.1 Ground research plan of the NSFC
A ground research plan named “Dynamic Hazard
Evolution of Major Engineering Structures” was approved and initiated by the Natural Science Foundation
Committee of China in April 2007. It is the first andlargest research plan of its type in the civil engineering
field in China. It has been allocated a budget totaling
170 million RMB for the duration of eight years. “Major
Engineering Structures” refers particularly to long or
major bridges, large-scale structures, including superhigh-rise buildings, structures taking up a large space,urban underground structures and high dams. The“Dynamic Hazards” here specifically refers to thoseinduced by strong earthquakes and violent winds or
typhoons. The ultimate aim and object of the plan is toraise the safety level of and mitigate damage to major
engineering projects. Two key scientific problems to besolved in this plan concerning typhoon disasters are as
follows: (1) describing the characteristics and laws of
typhoon fields so as to approach the movement, decay,
spatial distribution, topography and physiognomy effects and the 3-D time-space properties of strong winds

or typhoon fields and (2) understanding the processes
and mechanisms of dynamic hazard evolution in major
engineering structures disturbed by a severe typhoon
field.
Fifteen projects have been launched including sevenkey supporting projects (2.5 million RMB budget) andeight general supporting projects (0.5 million RMB
budget). The titles of the fifteen projects are listed inTable 4 (NSF Committee, 2007; 2008). All projects involved in the plan are expected to be launched before
the end of 2010, and more projects will be selected
within a couple of years. It is believed that it will
significantly reduce the risks of damage to major
engineering projects from severe earthquakes andtyphoons, and contribute greatly to the nation’s disastermitigation activities when this ground research plan iscompleted.
3.2 Development and improvement of technicalstandards
There is worldwide awareness that technical standards used for the design and construction of engineering projects play a crucial role in ensuring the safety ofengineering structures in resisting natural disasters. It isan urgent and strategic mission for the Chinese govern-

Table 4 Wind-induced-hazard-related projects.
Proved No.

Project Title

Type

Modeling and Prediction of Strong Wind or Typhoon Field
90715031
Wind flow field and structural damage characteristics
Keyof landing Typhoons
90815028
Numerical simulation and theoretical analysis on threeKey
dimensional wind field of landing Typhoons
Long Span Bridges under the Excitation Strong Wind or Typhoon
50738002
Theoretical system for the control of wind induced
Keyvibration on flexible bridges
90715039
Key effects and process control of wind-inducedKeyhazards for super long-span bridges
90815022
Field measurement and prototype validation of windKeydynamic hazard evolution of long-span bridges
90715015
Refinements on wind and rain induced vibration of stay Generalcables of long span cable-stayed bridges
90815016
Nonlinear flutter of long span bridges under nonlinear
Generalself-excited aerodynamic forces
Super Highrise Buildings under the Excitation Strong Wind or Typhoon
90715040
Wind loading, wind-induced effects and control ofKeysuper highrise buildings
90815030
Field measurement and theoretical analysis of superKeyhighrise buildings under strong wind excitation
90715023
Error and modification on wind loading simulation ofGeneralsuper highrise buildings based on wind tunnel testing
90715024
Hilly terrain wind field model and the response of super Generaltall buildings
90815015
Bending and torsional coupled wind-induced vibration
Generalof complicated highrise buildings based on wind tunnel
testing
Large Space Structures under the Excitation Strong Wind or Typhoon
90815021
Key effects and hazard evolution of large spaceKey
structures under strong wind excitation
90715025
Field measurement and wind tunnel testing of wind
Generalinduced vibration of large space structures
90815003
Theoretical analysis and numerical simulation of wind
Generalinduced hazard of membrane structures

Head of team
Lili Song
Xudong Liang

Zhengqing Chen
Yaojun Ge
Hui LiFengchen Li
Haili Liao

Ming Gu
Zhengnong Li
Shuguo Liang
Zhengliang Li
Xinyang Jin

Qinshan Yang
Jiyang Fu
Qilin Zhang

Wind Disasters and Mitigation Activities in China

ment and authorities to build an integrative and comprehensive technical standard system for risk reduction
and disaster mitigation. Accompanied by a revision ofdesign codes which was completed and put into practicein early 2002, a framework was established for a systemof standards in building construction (Construction
Ministry of P.R. China, 2003). The level of standards
can be illustrated by a pyramid-like figure (Fig. 9; Jin &Zhao, 2009).
To harmonize the concepts of structural reliability
and unify safety levels, an authoritative code, ‘Unified
standards for reliability design of engineering structures(GB 50153-2008)’ was issued and made applicable in2008 in China. This code is ranked at the top of all
design standards for technical control. The principle ofreliability and probability-based design methods will be
adopted not only in the design of building structures but
in all civil engineering structures covering the fields ofrailways, highways, dams, ports and docks. Accompanying the issuance of GB 50153-2008 and following therevised interim Chinese technical code by about ten
years, a new round of revision of design code for building structures has been initiated. All common standards
including load codes and various material design codes
will be revised first and a new generation design code
will be completed and issued in late 2011.
Wind-load codes, which are a part of the Chinese
National Standards and Common Standards, namely the
Load Code for the Design of Building Structures(GB50009), are undoubtedly very important to thewind-resistant design of building structures. Among thestatistics on extreme wind velocities, basic wind-loadvalues of more than 600 cities were given in this code. A
countrywide map of basic wind pressure was drawn up
which has also been widely adopted in other engineering
fields such as bridges and electric power supply lines.
With the quick progression of urbanization in China,
more and more basic wind-pressure data for boomtowns
are required because there will be many large-scale residential and industrial buildings built in such areas. In therevised wind-load code, basic wind velocities throughout mainland China will be investigated and statisticallycalculated. The revision of the wind-load code is expected to be an important activity in disaster mitigation
especially in suburban areas and the countryside.
StrongLaw

Restrict

Basic standard
Common standard
Technical standard

Flexible

Practical standard

Fig. 9 Chinese technical standards systemframework.

139

3.3 Wind tunnel facilities and education
In the early 1980s, there was not a single boundary-layer wind tunnel in mainland China. The wind tunnel facilities used in wind engineering testing weremodified from wind tunnels used in aerodynamics studies. The first boundary-layer wind tunnel with a testing
section of 2~3 m was built in Guangzhou and belonged
to the Institute of Building Research of Guangdong
Province in the mid-1980s. Starting from the construction of wind tunnels at Tongji University in Shanghai inthe late 1980s, more than ten boundary-layer wind tunnels have been built and another four are being constructed at universities and research units in mainland
China. A great number of wind-tunnel tests for buildings
and bridges have been completed in recent decades.
Significant achievements in wind engineering researchby Chinese scientists have been widely recognized andare also a tremendous contribution to improved wind
resistance and reduction of wind disasters involving
engineering structures.
Education on wind engineering and disaster mitigation is very popular nowadays at universities in China.
More than 20 universities and research institutes provide
majors or programs on the masters or doctorate level inwind engineering. Hundreds of postgraduate students
with masters or doctors degrees find work in wind engineering and administration for community safety eachyear. On the other hand, public education for saving
lives and avoiding hazards in extreme-wind climate
emergency has been developed and emphasized by the
Chinese government. Publications and TV programs for
popularization of science on typhoons and other natural
disasters have been developed quickly, and knowledge
on winds is becoming more and more popular.
Though the impact of winds is uncertain and unavoidable, we have reason to believe that wind-induced
losses of life and possessions will decrease gradually as
progress is made in science and technology and as public awareness increases.

4. Summary
China is one of the countries most severely affectedby the wind disasters, with mean economic losses ofabout 20 billion RMB a year. Almost all kinds ofdestructive wind climate phenomena such as cold front
wind storms, thunderstorms and tornadoes reportedly
occur in China. Tropical cyclones generated in the
Northwest Pacific and South China Sea are the chief
culprit in wind disasters in the southeastern coastal area,
sometimes reaching the middle of mainland of China.
More than half of the tropical cyclones (including
typhoons) landing in or affecting China have caused
tremendous losses to communities throughout history.
Significant damage is caused by the strong winds, flooding, surges and mudflows. Contrary to the economic
losses, the trends in deaths and injuries to humans
appear to be decreasing in mainland China in recent
years. A variety of activities, including but not limited to140

X. JIN and Y. YAN

ground research plans supported by the NSFC anddevelopment of technical standards, wind tunnel facilities and educational programs, are taking place in China
to mitigate wind disasters. It is believe that windinduced losses of human life and possessions have been
and will be further decreased as progress is made inscience and technology and public awareness increases.

Zhou, Jun-hua (2004) The Comprehensive Risk Assessment of
Typhoon Disaster in China. Department of Resources of
Beijing Normal University, Beijing.

References

Xinyang JIN was born in Zhejiang province
China on 1955, and finished his studies on
civil engineering at the Zhejiang University
in 1982. He is a professor and director ofWind Engineering Research Center of
CABR. His research activities focus mainly
on structural load and wind engineering. Asa chief drafter, he has been engaged indrafting of Chinese National Standard‘Load code for the design of building structures (GB 50009). He is thevice chairman of Chinese Wind Engineering Association and a Committee
Member of Structure Reliability of CCES. He has been Rewarded Chinese
National Award for Science and Technology Progress twice for his
outstanding research work.

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Kim, Y.D., C. Cabardo and K.Y. Park (2007) A study on typhoonfrequency and intensity changes due to increasing sea-surface
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Jin, X.Y. and J.D. Zhao (2009), The Standard System and Framework for the Design of Building Structures in China. Proceedings of IABSE Conference on International Codes of Practicein Structural Engineering, Dubrovnik, May 2010 (accepted).
Mccullough, M. and A. Kareen (2007) Global warming and hurricane intensity and frequency: The debate continues. Proc. 12th
ICWE, Cairns, Australia.
NSF Committee (2007) Project Application Guideline in 2007 of
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Engineering Structures. Department of Materials and Engineering, NSFC, Beijing (in Chinese).
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Xinyang JIN

Yalin YAN
Yalin YAN was born in Jiangsu province
China on 1985 and finished his MS studies
on structural engineering at CABR in 2009.
His research activities focus mainly onwind engineering and building structures.

(Received 2 November 2009, Accepted 25 December 2009)