Oceanic disasters leave 161 dead or missing in China in 2007

BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Oceanic disasters left 161 dead or missing and caused direct economic loss of 8.8 billion yuan (about1.2 billion U.S. dollars) in China last year, a report released by the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) on Tuesday said.

China experienced 163 oceanic disasters last year the report said, including storm tides, huge waves, severe sea ice, red tide and tsunami.

The calamity was not as severe as previous years, according to the SOA. Oceanic disasters between 1989 and 2006 claimed an annual average of 339 persons, dead or missing, and caused economic loss averaging 12.4 billion yuan, figures from the administration revealed.

China had 82 cases of red tide in 2007, which contaminated 11,610 square kilometers of sea area. Pollutants were blamed for the cause of the red tides in which large amounts of algae kill sea creatures.