Natural disasters cause 85.5 bln yuan in losses  

中国7月各类自然灾害造成直接经济损失855亿多元

中国民政部和中国国家减灾委办公室9日发布的7月份全国自然灾害损失情况显示：2012年7月份，各类自然灾害共造成全国6180.1万人次受灾，402人死亡，91人失踪，直接经济损失855.2亿元人民币(不含港澳台地区数据)。

Beijing (CNS) -- Natural catastrophes in July claimed 402 lives, affected 61.8 million people and caused direct economic losses of 85.52 billion yuan (US$13.49 billion), according to data released yesterday by the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Torrential rains, flooding and hailstorms forced 4.6 million people to evacuate or seek relief, while 244,000 houses collapsed and 871,000 were damaged. Crops hurt by disaster hit 5.2 million hectares, and over 624,000 hectares will see no yields at all.

Drought and earthquakes also affected some areas.