In 2024, the number of major accidents and resulting fatalities in China saw a significant year-on-year decline of nearly 50 percent, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.
China experienced nine major accidents last year, resulting in 146 deaths, which represent a drop of 43.8 percent and 49.8 percent, respectively, compared to the previous year, said Shen Zhanli, the ministry's spokeswoman, at a news conference held on Wednesday.
Additionally, the total number of various types of accidents also continued to decline last year, Shen said.
A total of 21,800 production safety accidents occurred throughout the year, resulting in 19,600 deaths, marking a decrease of 11 percent and 7.6 percent, respectively, year-on-year.
Meanwhile, the safety production situation remained stable in most regions across the country, as no major accidents occurred in seven key industries, including chemicals, fireworks, rail transport, and air transport, she said.
The official also reported on the natural disasters that occurred nationwide last year, saying that in 2024, natural disasters in China primarily consisted of floods, typhoons, low temperatures, and snow disasters.
Various natural disasters affected 94.13 million people to varying degrees, with 856 people dead or missing due to the disasters, and direct economic losses amounting to 401.1 billion yuan ($54.7 billion), according to Shen.
"Last year, nationwide precipitation was generally above average, leading to frequent floods and geological disasters. In some areas, the duration of rainfall was prolonged, the affected regions overlapped, and the rainfall amounts broke historical records," she said.
In addition, the number of typhoons generated and making landfall was higher than usual.
"Typhoon Yagi was the strongest typhoon to make landfall in China during autumn since meteorological records began," she said.
Last year, the situation regarding forest and grassland fire prevention remained stable, with the number of fires occurring at a historically low level, Shen added.
