China sees fewer deaths, missing people from disasters
Xinhua, October 11, 2016 Adjust font size:
There were significantly fewer people killed or missing in disasters in China between 2011 and 2015 than in previous years, according to a report released Tuesday.
The office of China National Commission for Disaster Reduction issued the report, titled "China's Actions for Disaster Prevention and Reduction during the 12th Five-Year Plan Period," ahead of the 27th International Day for Disaster Reduction.
Compared with the annual average from 2001 and 2010, the number of people left dead or missing decreased by 86.7 percent while the number of people relocated due to disasters decreased by 22.6 percent.
The report also revealed that collapsed houses and affected farmland decreased by 75.6 percent and 38.8 percent respectively. The proportion of direct economic losses to GDP decreased by 13.2 percent.
China faces frequent and severe natural disasters that are diverse in type, widely distributed, and cause huge losses, the report said. From 2011 to 2015, an average of 310 million people were hit by disasters while 1,500 were left dead or missing each year.
The report also summarized China's achievements and experience in disaster prevention and reduction between 2011 and 2015. Endi