China: 147 people dead or missing due to natural disasters in July

BEIJING: China's natural disasters, including floods, typhoons and geological disasters have impacted more than 16 million people, with 147 people dead or missing in July. The direct economic losses amounted to 41.18 billion yuan (USD 5.74 billion) in July, Global Times reported citing China's Ministry of Emergency Management. Flooding, typhoons, geological disaster and drought were the main natural disasters in China in July. Other kinds of disasters including hailstorms, earthquakes, sand-dust storms and forest fires also occurred, according to the ministry.

As many as 703,000 people were evacuated and moved when natural disasters occurred. According to the ministry, 4,300 houses collapsed in July and natural disasters hit 3.13 million hectares of crops, Global Times reported. This year, July was the worst month for disaster losses, with East China's Fujian, Southwest China's Chongqing, North China's Beijing, Hebei Province and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous regions being among the worst-hit provinces and municipalities.

In July, seven heavy rainfalls were witnessed in Pakistan and the cumulative rainfall was 119 millimetres. Due to super typhoon Doksuri, extreme rainfall occurred in northern China, Huanghuai and other regions. Multiple flood storage areas were used in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, Global Times reported. According to authorities, the water level of other major rivers in China is lower than that of the same period during the previous years, with 262 rivers experiencing floods above the water level. More than 7.03 million people were impacted by floods and geological disasters, with 142 people dead or missing. Furthermore, more than 2,300 houses collapsed and direct economic loss reached 15.78 billion yuan.

In July, three typhoons formed in the northwest Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea, with two making landfall in China. On July 17 and 18, Typhoon Talim made landfall twice in Zhanjiang, South China's Guangdong province, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Beihai, the report said. This year, Typhoon Talim was the first typhoon to make landfall in China and the disaster impacted more than 1.12 million people in Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan and resulted in direct economic losses of 2.61 billion yuan. Typhoon Doksuri impacted more than 2.91 million people in Fujian, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Guangdong and other places with direct economic losses reaching 14.74 billion yuan, according to Global Times report.

Drought in North and Northeast China has eased due to rainfall. Meanwhile, drought in the central and western Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region continues to occur, Global Times reported. In July, the drought was severe in parts of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Hebei and Liaoning provinces. At the peak of the drought in mid-July, more than 4.31 million people and 1.64 million hectares of crops were impacted, the ministry said. Northern, Northeastern and other parts of China suffered due to extreme weather, with regions impacted by hailstorms in July resulting in five deaths.