In May, various natural disasters in China caused direct economic losses of 20.08 billion yuan

On June 18, the Ministry of Emergency Management of China reported that multiple natural disasters across the country in May 2026 caused direct economic losses of 20.08 billion yuan. During this period, a total of 6.609 million persontimes nationwide were affected to varying degrees, 95 people died or went missing, and 335,000 persontimes were urgently relocated or needed emergency living assistance. The report showed that the nationwide average precipitation in May was higher than in the same period of previous years. Rainfall was unevenly distributed in many parts of the south, and precipitation in some local areas of Guangdong, Hubei, Guangxi, and other places broke historical records. Flood and geological disasters were the main sources of losses in the month, affecting 5.765 million persontimes and causing direct economic losses of 19.26 billion yuan. In addition, China was also affected by seven rounds of severe convective weather in May, with wind and hail disasters mainly concentrated in parts of the Northeast and Southwest; a total of 18 earthquakes of magnitude 4.0 or above occurred in China's mainland region. The Ministry of Emergency Management said the relevant data are preliminary statistics.