Natural disasters kill 279 people in June
15:25, 1 July 2011
BEIJING. July 1. KAZINFORM Natural disasters killed 279 people in June and left 93 others missing, according to figures released by the National Disaster Reduction Commission on Friday. Kazinform refers to Xinhua.
According to a notice issued by the commission, the severity of June's natural disasters was basically identical to that witnessed in previous years, although some hard-hit regions suffered from unusual challenges.
Natural disasters in June, mainly floods and droughts, together with storms, earthquakes, hurricanes and landslides, have affected 67.53 million people in total, forcing over 2 million people to leave their homes to find safe shelter elsewhere.
These disasters also caused severe damage to more than 6 million hectares of farmland and 452,000 houses, resulting in direct economic losses of 57.1 billion yuan (8.81 billion U.S.dollars). Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.xinhuanet.com