Natural disasters kill 74 in first quarter

Natural disasters across China have claimed 74 lives and 4 people are missing in the first quarter this year, authorities announced on Wednesday.

Affecting more than 12 million people, disasters forced the evacuation of 98,000, according to a statement by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the National Commission for Disaster Reduction.

Disasters caused direct economic losses of 5.6 billion yuan ($900 million) and affected more than 1.73 million hectares of farmland, the statement said.

Droughts, floods, hailstorms, earthquakes, icy weather and snowstorms were the main natural disasters hitting the country in the first quarter, the statement said, adding that the overall damage appeared to be lighter comparing with figures of the same period in recent years.