Abstract
Heilongjiang Province is located in the northeast region of China, with the country’s highest latitude. It has long and cold winters, and a temperate monsoon climate. Its unique geographic location and climatic conditions make it the second largest stable snow-covered region in China. The winter snow period starts in October and ends in April of the following year. Therefore, the long-term accumulation of snow causes road obstructions and low-temperature frost damage, which seriously affects local economic development and human safety. This study adopts snow parameters (e.g., snow depth and snow-cover period), natural environmental factors (e.g., elevation and slope), and socioeconomic factors (e.g., gross domestic product and light index). On the basis of the disaster risk assessment theory, we constructed a disaster risk index from four aspects (i.e., disaster risk, susceptibility, vulnerability, and disaster prevention and mitigation). Then, we performed snow-disaster risk zoning and an assessment in Heilongjiang Province. The main findings are as follows: the snow-disaster risk in the northern and eastern regions of Heilongjiang Province was high; the central and northern regions were highly sensitive to disasters; the main urban areas were highly vulnerable; and the economically developed regions had strong disaster prevention and mitigation capabilities. Overall, the spatial distribution of the snow-disaster risk followed a decreasing trend from east to west. High-risk areas were distributed in the east and northwest (covering 34.3% of the entire Heilongjiang Province area); medium-risk areas were distributed in the north and center (accounting for 45.2% of the entire Heilongjiang Province area); and low-risk areas were concentrated in the west (constituting 20.5% of the entire Heilongjiang Province area).
Highlights
Since the 1990s, the focus of emergency management has gradually turned from emergency rescue and postevent recovery and reconstruction, to prepreventive preparations [1].The United States, Britain, Germany, France, Japan, and other countries have promoted major disaster risk assessments
The snow depth, the length of the snow-cover period, the snowfall intensity, the total blizzard volume, the total number of blizzards, and the total days of wind speeds over 8 m/s were selected as the risk factors of snow disaster
The length of the snow-cover period and the wind speeds showed a significant decrease, and the M–K statistical values were −3.223 and −6.43 (Table 3). It can be seen from the distribution of the box map (Figure 4) that the snow depth, the snowperiod length, the snow intensity, the total blizzard volume, the total number of blizzards, the total blizzard volume, the total number of blizzards, and the days with wind speeds over 8m/s in Heilongjiang Province, from 1983 to 2020
Summary
Since the 1990s, the focus of emergency management has gradually turned from emergency rescue and postevent recovery and reconstruction, to prepreventive preparations [1].The United States, Britain, Germany, France, Japan, and other countries have promoted major disaster risk assessments. Since the 1990s, the focus of emergency management has gradually turned from emergency rescue and postevent recovery and reconstruction, to prepreventive preparations [1]. 2015, the “Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030”, adopted by the Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, pointed out that two of the four priorities for disaster reduction are “Understanding disaster risk” and “Strengthening disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk” [2,3]. A snow disaster is large-scale snow, caused by heavy snowfall, which seriously affects the survival and health of humans and livestock. It is a meteorological disaster that can affect and damage traffic, communications, agriculture, and electricity [4]. From 2000 to 2012, the agriculture sector of Liaoning Province suffered 20 large-scale disasters resulting from snowstorms [6].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
