Disasters claim 627 lives in major flood season

Natural disasters have killed 627 people and forced the evacuation of almost 4.4 million others since the major flood season began in June, a senior emergency management official said.

Zheng Guoguang, vice-minister of emergency management, told a news conference in Beijing on Thursday the death toll was 23.2 percent lower than the average for the past five years. No comparison was given for the number of people evacuated.

Direct economic losses from the disasters were down by 55 percent from the past five years' average at 215.3 billion yuan ($30.4 billion), he added.

Zheng detailed efforts the ministry had made to protect people's lives and property and reduce losses.

More than 14,400 members of fire and rescue teams across the country had been involved in over 13,000 flood-control tasks, he said, and over 4.6 billion yuan in emergency relief funding had been dispatched to the five worst-hit provincial regions, including Jiangxi and Hunan provinces.

Materials sent to flood-plagued areas included 18,000 tents and folding beds, Zheng said.