BEIJING, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- Natural disasters have caused great loss of life and property across China in July, leaving 154 dead and 31 missing, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.
A total of 25.02 million people were affected by the disasters, and over 1.3 million were relocated, data from the ministry showed.
The country was mainly hit by floods, geological disasters and typhoons last month, while droughts, hail and earthquakes caused damages to various extents, said the ministry.
The disasters have destroyed 26,000 houses and affected 3.2 million hectares of crops, leading to a direct economic loss of 56.57 billion yuan (about 8 billion U.S. dollars).
According to the ministry, five rounds of torrential rains have been recorded across the country, with provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, Jiangxi and Hunan heavily affected.
Specifically, floods and geological disasters have affected 16.24 million people, caused 132 deaths and left 31 missing, and resulted in a direct economic loss of 46.77 billion yuan, said the ministry.
However, the impact of natural disasters in July was relatively lower compared with situations in the past five years, with the dead and missing population, number of collapsed houses and direct economic losses reduced by 47 percent, 79 percent and 53 percent, respectively.
