China reports almost twice the losses due to natural disasters in July

The Emergency Management Ministry has released data for last month, with almost US$ 11 billion in losses due mainly to floods. Over 300 dead or missing and thousands of damaged houses and hectares of land. Summer in China is the season of typhoons and high temperatures, which this year could exceed 40 degrees Celsius.

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The heavy rains of recent weeks and the resulting floods have had a major economic impact in China, almost double those reported last year, the Emergency Management Ministry has announced.

Last month's losses amounted to 76.9 billion yuan (almost US$ 11 billion), 88 per cent due to swollen rivers, flooding, and their effects.

These are the highest losses reported in July (with August the typhoon season) in the last three years, ministry data show.

In the same period, about 26.4 million people across the country were victims of natural disasters, with 328 dead or missing, over a million people forced to evacuate, 12,000 houses collapsed, and another 157,000 damaged.

About 2.42 million hectares of farmland was also affected. In Henan, a major agricultural production area, several harvests have been lost. Crops were also damaged in Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang.

More than 30 weather stations in Henan, Hunan and Shandong provinces reported record rainfall, with a national average 13.3 per cent higher than normal. At least two reservoirs have received twice as much rain as usual.

Temperatures in July were the highest on record, in all Chinese provinces. Experts expect new waves of extreme heat in the coming days, with temperatures reaching up to 43 degree Celsius.

• china
• heavy rainfall
• flooding
• swollen rivers
• heat wave
• temperatures
• henan
• hunan
• shandong