ABSTRACT
In view of its vast territory, frequent occurrence of extreme meteorological and geological events, and socioeconomic conditions, China is one of the most disasteraffected countries in the world. Frequent natural disasters, consisting of floods, droughts, earthquakes, forest fires, snow, typhoons, and marine disasters, have caused severe human and economic loss to the country. For example, in 2010, 7844 people were killed, 2.73 million houses were destroyed, 37.4 million hectares of croplands were damaged, and there was an economic loss of 534 billion RMB because of disastrous events (Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People’s Republic of China 2011). Disaster (damage) risk quantifies the damages that an element at risk may suffer when a hazard strikes. It is an integral part of decision-and policymaking processes of national and local disaster risk reduction activities. Exposure is the collection of the elements at risk that are subject to potential losses (ISDR 2009). It is reported to be increasing due to population growth and urbanization and is a
11.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 217 11.2 Background .................................................................................................. 219 11.3 Quality Assessment ......................................................................................220
