Natural disasters leave 1,126 dead, missing in China in 2011

Natural disasters left 1,126 people dead or missing in China in 2011, a statement released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) said Thursday.

The natural disasters affected 430 million people, forced the evacuation of 9.39 million people, and caused direct economic losses of 309.64 billion yuan (49.15 billion U.S. dollars) last year, according to the statement.

Further, the natural disasters affected about 32.47 million hectares of crops, with 2.89 million hectares yielding no harvest at all.

About 935,000 houses collapsed and 3.31 million houses were damaged in last year's disasters, the statement said.

The central government allocated 8.64 billion yuan (about 1.37 billion U.S. dollars) for relief funds. A total of 70,000 tents and 830,000 pieces of cotton clothes and beddings were sent for disaster relief.

According to the statement, a total of 994,000 houses were rebuilt last year and more than 75 million affected people were provided with shelters and food as well as basic public services.