Natural disasters in China disasters – except volcano eruptions – have occurred in China, which include floods, droughts, meteorological, seismic, geological, maritime and ecological disasters as well as forestry and grassland fires. These natural disasters pose serious threats to life and property safety to China and its people and severely affect the comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development of that country's economy and society. In addition, they threaten China's national security and social stability and stand in the way of economic development in some regions and poverty alleviation of certain rural populations. The Chinese term for natural disasters reveals the traditional view of disasters as
History of flooding in Canada due to sewer back-up, not fire. Floods occur five times as often as wildfires, the second most frequent natural hazard in Canada. Between 1900 and 2005 there were 241 flood disasters in Canada. The 1894 Fraser River flood had a return period of slightly more than 500 years and the 1948 flood was close to a 200-year event. The 1997 Red River flood was named the 'flood of the century'. The International Joint Commission (IJC)'s 1998 report warned that although the 1997 Red River flood had a "return interval ranging from 100 to 500 years, depending on the location", there