A string of typhoons, deadly landslides, freakish hailstorms and torrential rains have cost the Chinese economy $42 billion so far this year, Beijing has said.
The country’s emergency management ministry revealed the unprecedented toll wrought on the nation of 1.4 billion by calamities that ranged from sandstorms to rains that brought massive flooding and historic rainfall in Beijing, the capital.
Officials said 499 people were reported dead and missing in natural disasters during the nine-month period, with more than 89 million affected, while over 2.75 million had to be evacuated and resettled.
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Four typhoons during the period caused heavy losses, with the most recent back-to-back events bringing flash flooding and hundreds of landslides in southern areas, while the north and northeast suffered record rain and evacuations.
China’s crops of rice, soy and corn were also battered, triggering larger inflation worries at a time when the government is battling to stabilise the economy.
Crops across 9.71 million hectares (24 million acres) were affected in the nine-month period, the government said.
Excessive heat forced a struggle with dramatic weather swings that some experts blamed on climate change.
- Reuters with additional editing by Sean O’Meara
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