BEIJING, Sept 18 (Reuters) – China said on Friday that direct economic losses incurred from natural disasters in August amounted to 36.03 billion yuan ($5.38 billion), with Typhoon Dolphin causing the most damage.
The emergency management ministry counted 595 people who have died or disappeared in natural disasters during the month, and a total of 12.62 million people and 857,400 hectares (2.2 million acres) of crops affected.
Direct economic losses from the strongest typhoon to hit China this year, Typhoon Dolphin, reached 28.26 billion yuan, around 78% of the month’s total, according to the ministry’s report.
Of the four typhoons that made landfall in China in August, Typhoon Dolphin left the most wide-ranging impact across various regions, affecting 8.8 million people and 365,900 hectares of crops, it said.
August was also when the devastating mudslide and floods tore through a border crossing connecting the Tibet region with Nepal that claimed more than 1,400 lives in both countries.
The extent of the impact from the disaster caused by a glacier collapse was still being verified, the ministry said. China’s latest official toll from the mudslide was 43 dead with 519 still missing.
“Above-warning-level floods occurred more frequently than usual nationwide, whilst geological disasters were particularly prevalent in western regions,” the ministry said.
($1 = 6.6966 yuan)
(Reporting by Liz Lee and Shanghai newsroom; Editing by Tom Hogue and Christian Schmollinger)
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