An assessment report published by the Ministry of Civil Affairs indicates China faces increasingly severe natural disasters. According to the Response Assessment Analysis for 2008 Natural Disasters, disasters in 2008 were high in frequency, of different varieties, spanned vast geographical ranges, were of high magnitude and caused heavy losses. “The overall situation remains grim.” Statistics show that in 2008, 470 million people were affected, 88,928 killed or missing, 26.822 million evacuated, 39.99 million hectares of crops damaged, and 10.977 million houses collapsed. The disasters caused direct economic losses of 117.524 billion Yuan.
Source: Ministry of Civil Affairs, September 23, 2009 http://www.mca.gov.cn/article/zwgk/mzyw/200909/20090900038648.shtml