Economic Impacts of Tropical Cyclone-Induced Multiple Hazards in China

Tropical cyclones (TCs) are known to bring heavy rainfall, strong winds and severe storm surges simultaneously, resulting in tremendous damage beyond the effects of a single hazard. However, the compound impacts of TC multi-hazards remain unexplored in macroeconomic assessments. Here, we provide empirical evidence on the multi-hazard economic losses of TC for the first time. We used a national panel of provincial economic output in China over 2000-2020. Our results show that the total macroeconomic impact of the severest TC multi-hazards can represent up to 14 times the value of merely TC winds. Specifically, the vast majority (over 80%) of the combined TC impacts is caused by precipitation, with wider and greater economic impacts than TC winds and storm surges. Furthermore, high-latitude and interior regions of China are more vulnerable to TCs due to the interactions with temperature variability and TC wind intensity variability. High-income areas and secondary industries respond markedly to all TC hazards, and the economic impact of TC precipitation is significant over all sectors. Our findings provide new implications for the socio-economic impact mechanisms of multiple hazards of TCs and valuable insights into the design of climate policy for compound hazard risks.

Automated summary

This study provides empirical evidence on the compound economic losses of tropical cyclones (TCs) for the first time, highlighting the significant impacts of precipitation. The study also suggests that high-latitude and interior regions of China are more vulnerable to TCs and underscores the need for climate policies to address compound hazard risks.