The Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs said yesterday that 1,279
people had died and 239 were missing as a result of natural
disasters in the first seven months of this year.
In July alone, 712 people died and 163 went missing, the
ministry said in a press release.
This year, the country has experienced abnormal weather
conditions causing floods, landslides and drought in a number of
provinces, the ministry said, adding that the situation was far
worse than last year and the average level.
Disasters of various kinds have affected about 280 million
people and made 6.15 million homeless, causing economic losses of
110 billion yuan (US$14.49 billion), the statement said.
Last month, heavy rain hit several provinces in southwest and
central China causing floods and landslides while the lower reaches
of the Yangtze River and northeast China suffered serious
drought.
But the damage was lower than last year, possibly due to the
improvement of facilities and capabilities in dealing with the
emergencies, said the ministry.
(Xinhua News Agency August 8, 2007)
