Natural disasters kill 27 in China in January

Natural disasters killed 27 people in China in January, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the National Commission for Disaster Reduction Thursday.

Casualties and losses caused is worse than the average level in the same period over the previous five years, the authorities said in a report.

More than 40,000 people were displaced, the report said, adding that the disasters also left about 143,000 people short of basic necessities.

About 2,000 houses were destroyed and another 2,000 seriously damaged. About 973,000 hectares of crops were damaged.

Natural disasters last month caused 16.3 billion yuan (2.6 billion U.S. dollars) of direct economic losses, the report said.

The report said natural disasters in the month were mainly caused by low temperatures, heavy snow, rain and frost, which had been intense and long-lasting across a wide swath of China.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)