China Outlines 15th Five-Year Plan to Strengthen Geological Disaster Prevention

China's Ministry of Natural Resources has released the National 15th Five-Year Implementation Plan for Geological Disaster Prevention and Control, establishing key operational targets for the 2026–2030 period. According to official reports, the strategy includes over 4,200 engineering mitigation projects, more than 6,100 hazard elimination tasks, and the planned relocation of 50,000 households from high-risk areas. The plan divides the country into 21 primary prevention zones and incorporates enhanced monitoring for major infrastructure, including the Yaxia hydropower project, while advancing a 'dual-control' management model for disaster points and broader risk areas.

China's complex terrain, active geological conditions, and increasing frequency of extreme weather events present persistent risks to communities and infrastructure. As of the end of 2025, nearly 280,000 registered geological hazard sites across China threatened 11.48 million people and assets valued at 760.1 billion yuan. By upgrading engineering controls, deploying digital monitoring tools, and expanding prevention efforts to key development sites and northern regions, the government aims to mitigate systemic vulnerabilities and protect lives amid escalating environmental risks.

China's Ministry of Natural Resources has announced the 'National 15th Five-Year Implementation Plan for Geological Disaster Prevention and Control,' outlining a comprehensive strategy to bolster the nation's capacity to manage sudden geological hazards during the 2026–2030 period, according to state media outlets Xinhua and CCTV News. The framework establishes concrete targets to reduce risks across vulnerable regions. Over the next five years, authorities plan to execute more than 4,200 engineering control projects, perform hazard elimination at over 6,100 sites, and facilitate the relocation of 50,000 households situated in high-risk zones, state media reported. According to figures cited by Xinhua, China's complex topography and active tectonic conditions—compounded by frequent extreme weather and intensive human engineering activity—make geological hazards a severe threat. By the end of 2025, China had registered nearly 280,000 active geological disaster sites nationwide, threatening an estimated 11.48 million people and approximately 760.1 billion yuan ($106 billion) in assets. The new implementation plan designates 21 priority prevention regions across the country. These include 17 focus areas covering approximately 2.97 million square kilometers vulnerable to landslides, rockfalls, mudslides, and sinkholes, alongside four specialized zones spanning around 280,000 square kilometers dedicated to addressing land subsidence and ground fissures. Crucially, the plan refines existing focus zones in the southeastern hills and southwestern mountains while incorporating new priority areas. These additions include the Yaxia hydropower construction project, regions susceptible to high-altitude long-runout disaster chains, and the Yanshan-Taihang Mountain area. The updates highlight growing policy emphasis on protecting major state infrastructure and addressing concealed hazard risks in northern China. Under the framework, China will transition toward a 'dual-control' management approach targeting both individual hazard points and broader risk zones. The initiative also aims to establish an integrated digital map sub-scenario for disaster prevention, enhance dynamic risk surveys, and modernize grassroots early-warning and emergency response mechanisms.