06 January 2006 Chinese natural disasters leave nearly 2,500 dead in 2005
Natural disasters in China left nearly 2,500 people dead last year, according to the Chinese government.
Li Ligua, vice minister of civil affairs, also noted that the disasters caused 15.7 million people to be displaced and 2.264 million houses to collapse.
Although the death toll was not as high as the record levels seen in 2001, the economic losses of 204.21 billion yuan ($25.53 billion) were the highest in five years.
Speaking at a press conference, Mr Li said that in 2005 China was "plagued by flood, typhoon, drought, hailstorm and snowstorm, freeze, landslide, mud and rock flow and earthquake, among other disasters".
Amongst the natural disasters were eight typhoons, 13 earthquakes and some of the most severe droughts ever recorded.
Mr Li added, however, that the government had been able to cope with the level of disasters, in part thanks to the collaboration of numerous departments to work towards an improvement in the disaster recovery capacity.
The latest statistics serve to highlight the need for travellers to destinations such as China to be fully covered in the event of a disaster.
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