Natural disasters leave 47 dead in January

Natural disasters across China killed 47 people and left another two missing in January, the Ministry of Civil Affairs announced on Tuesday.

Disasters affected 7.39 million people and forced the evacuation of 25,000 people in the month, according to the ministry.

The disasters caused direct economic losses of 2.56 billion yuan (about 410.61 million U.S. dollars), with more than 1,900 houses toppled and about 1.54 million hectares of farmland affected, according to authorities.