China's economic losses from natural disasters exceed 88 bln yuan

China's direct economic losses from natural disasters amounted to 88.81 billion yuan, about USD 13.13 billion, in the first half of 2022, the Ministry of Emergency Management said Thursday.

From January to June, floods and hailstorms were the major natural disasters in China, while droughts, freezing weather, earthquakes, snow disasters, and forest and grassland fires also occurred to varying degrees, Shen Zhanli, spokesperson for the ministry, told a press conference.

Nearly 39.14 million people were affected by natural disasters during the period, with 178 dead or missing and 1.28 million residents relocated.

More than 18,000 houses collapsed and 3.62 million hectares of cropland were damaged by natural disasters, Shen said.

Six people were killed and 12 have been reported missing after heavy rainstorms triggered mountain torrents in South-West China's Sichuan province on Sunday.

The incident took place at 7 a.m. after the water levels of some rivers rose sharply, and floods mixed with floating objects, mud, sand and stones were formed, Xinhua reported, citing the local authorities as saying.

From 8 p.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Saturday, heavy rains lashed the Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County, affecting 13 townships and approximately 22,300 people, with precipitation of up to 110 millimetres. The floods hit Baishi Township, resulting in six deaths and 12 missing people.

Chinese authorities have dispatched more than 400 rescue workers to search for those reported missing, repair roads and communication facilities, and conduct other rescue operations, as per the reports by Xinhua.

More than 1,300 people have been relocated, including 480 people from Baishi Township, the report added.

In another catastrophic incident recently, eight people were killed after a decorative building structure fell from a height of about 12 meters on Saturday in North China's Hebei Province.

The incident happened during a rainstorm in Luquan District of Shijiazhuang, the capital city of Hebei when nine people sheltering from the rain were hit by the fallen structure.

The torrential rains and rain-induced floods since May 28 have wreaked havoc in 80 counties of the province.

As per the local authorities, in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, more than 3.75 million residents have been affected by floods and heavy rains.

According to East China's Jiangxi Province, Direct economic losses from the floods touched 470 million yuan (about 70.4 million US dollars).

( With inputs from ANI )