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China natural disasters cost $3.3 billion in very first quarter, government states

Floods, droughts, an earthquake and freezing conditions in China triggered direct financial losses of 23.76 billion yuan ($ 3.28 billion) in the very first quarter, the government said on Saturday.

The emergency management ministry pointed out damage from a number of cold spells, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, landslides in Yunnan province in the southwest and flooding on the Yellow River.

The disasters killed 79 people while 110,000 required emergency relocation and resettlement and 10.4 million individuals throughout 26 regions and provinces were impacted in the duration, the ministry stated in a report.

Other natural catastrophes consisted of a dry spell in the southwest impacting 424,000 hectares (10,500 acres) of crops, sandstorms in the northwest and forest fires in the southwest and south.

In 2015 natural disasters in China caused 345.45 billion yuan ($ 47.7 billion) of direct economic losses, with 691 individuals dead or missing, the ministry reported in January.

In January the ministry said it prepares a three-year campaign to deal with problems obstructing response times during catastrophes and accidents, consisting of production security lapses in sectors like mining.