Natural disasters in China Development Institute, the state-led nature of humanitarian aid in today's China traces back to these traditional beliefs. Chinese believed that natural disasters would foretell the end of a dynasty or the death of a great leader. This concept of cosmic linkage between natural disasters and human conduct was radically rejected at the height of Maoist years, when nature was represented as ‘an enemy to be overcome, an adversary to be brought to heel’. Propaganda posters were produced with the slogan, "Earthquakes cannot frighten us, the people will certainly conquer nature." China has had 6 of the world's top 10 deadliest
Human response to disasters Human response to disasters Human response to disasters has been recorded throughout human history. In ancient times disasters were often perceived as a result of a deity, divine being, or spiritual creature showing their displeasure over human behavior. This later changed as humans began to see disasters as natural events that caused physical destruction and social chaos to individuals, communities, and societies as opposed to responses to human actions. The term "disaster myth" has been created to describe the belief that people will behave in an irrational, uncontrolled, and even extreme manner outside of normal and accepted social standards despite