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Natural disasters kill 51 in China in Q1

Xinhua, April 13, 2016 Adjust font size:

Natural disasters left 51 people dead and affected more than 13.97 million people across China in the first three months, according to official figures.

The most notable events included floods, frost and snow, among others, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Wednesday in a statement.

In total, natural disasters caused about 18.45 billion yuan (about 2.85 billion U.S. dollars) in direct economic losses. About 202,000 houses were damaged and more than 4,000 collapsed.

The overall damage from natural disasters in the first quarter was generally lighter than the most periods since 2009 but slightly heavier than last year, it said.

South China experienced earlier spring floods this year, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan and Guangdong being the hardest hit regions. Floods and ensuing geological disasters left 48 dead or missing and caused about 1.21 billion yuan in direct economic losses.

Snow and frost killed two and affected 11.42 million people, and wreaked havoc to about 1.35 million hectare of crops, a direct economic loss of 15.31 billion yuan. Endite