Natural disasters kill 402 in China this year

Natural disasters across China have left at least 402 people dead and 129 missing since the beginning of the year, an official with the Ministry of Civil Affairs said Tuesday.

The most notable events were floods and landslides, said Pang Chenmin, head of the disaster relief division of the ministry, adding that other disasters also occurred, including drought, hail, typhoons, earthquakes, mudslides, snowstorms and forest fires.

In total, natural disasters caused 170.46 billion yuan (25.3 billion U.S. dollars) in direct economic losses and 3.58 million residents were relocated. More than 200,000 houses were severely damaged and 12.33 million hectares of crops were affected, with 1 million hectares destroyed.

Total damage in the first seven months of the year was less than that over the same period in the years from from 2009 to 2016, Pang said.

The central government has allocated funds of about 1.2 billion yuan to help people in disaster-hit areas, and sent disaster relief materials to guarantee basic living needs.

The ministry and the China National Commission for Disaster Reduction have sent nine emergency teams to assist relief work on the ground.