Natural disasters kill 2,325 people in 2007

CHINA'S Ministry of Civil Affairs said that 2,325 people died in natural disasters last year and caused a direct loss of 236.3 billion yuan (US$32.51 billion).

About 400 million people were affected natural disasters in 2007 as around 1.46 million homes were destroyed, the ministry said in a report posted on its Website yesterday.

Floods and landslides were the most frequent disasters, causing 63 percent of the deaths. Hail storms were also frequently deadly, the report said.

The direct causes of deaths were mostly floods, lightning strikes, cave-in accidents and building collapses, the report said.

The number of people killed by lightning strikes rose 25 percent in 2007, the report said.

In 2006, 3,186 people were killed in natural disasters, the worst year since 1998, according to the ministry.