Geological disasters kill 97 in H1 of 2011
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Xinhua, July 20, 2011
A total of 97 people died while 13 others went missing in geological disasters that happened in China in the first half of the year, the Ministry of Land and Resources announced Tuesday.
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Rainstorm-triggered mudslide damaged the highway in Gongshan area, Yunnan Province, on July 16. Rainstorms and floods in China have killed 355 people since June 1. [Xinhua] |
These disasters, 10,710 in total, also incurred direct economic losses of nearly 939 million yuan (145 million U.S. dollars).
The number of geological disasters, including landslides, mud-rock flows and land cave-ins, dropped during the first six months from the same period last year, according to Wang Min, vice minister of land and resources. Meanwhile, less casualties were reported.
The ministry warned that the July-September period is the peak time for such disasters to occur, and the droughts endured by many parts of the country make mud-rock flows and landslides more likely to happen.
From 2006 to 2010, 214,000 geological disasters occurred in China, which left nearly 6,293 people dead or missing.
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