BEIJING: More than 26 million people across China were affected to varying degrees by natural disasters in July, which mainly involved heavy rain, flooding, typhoons and geological disasters, according to an assessment by the country’s top disaster relief authorities.

Released by the Office of the National Committee for Disaster Reduction and the Ministry of Emergency Management, the assessment reported that 328 people were either dead or missing due to various disasters in July.

Additionally, over 1.1 million people were urgently relocated, with direct economic losses amounting to 76.8 billion yuan (RM48 billion), according to the assessment, which was published on Thursday.

In July, natural disasters in China were mainly characterised by heavy rain, flooding, typhoons and geological disasters, with the occurrences of wind and hail, earthquakes and forest fires also reported to varying degrees.

The assessment also noted that rainfall in July was extreme, with severe flooding and frequent emergencies.

There were seven significant rainfall processes nationwide, with an average precipitation of 132 millimetres, 11 per cent higher than the same period in a usual year.

Furthermore, major rivers such as the Yangtze, Yellow and Huaihe, as well as Taihu Lake, experienced floods. Meanwhile, a total of 706 rivers in 27 provincial areas experienced floods that exceeded warning levels.

In early July, a section of the dike along Dongting Lake in Huarong county, Hunan province, was breached, with the widest gap reaching 226 meters, according to the assessment.

The report also highlighted that due to extreme heavy rainfall, many regions across the country experienced severe rainstorms, flooding and geological disasters, including urban waterlogging, mountain torrents, mudslides and landslides.

“The disaster situation developed rapidly, affected a wide range of areas, and caused significant losses,” it said.

In late July, heavy rain in the cities of Baoji and Shangluo in Shaanxi province triggered mountain torrents and mudslides, resulting in 95 deaths and disappearances.

On July 20, sudden mountain torrents and mudslides caused by heavy rain in Hanyuan county, Sichuan province, led to 41 deaths and disappearances.

Additionally, Typhoon Gaemi made landfall in Fujian in July, with its remnants significantly impacting Hunan, the assessment said.

Gaemi made landfall in Yilan, Taiwan, and Putian, Fujian, on July 25, affecting 1.47 million people across Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, and Guangdong provinces, with direct economic losses amounting to 5.79 billion yuan.

Subsequently, the remnants of the typhoon moved inland, bringing extreme heavy rainfall to Hunan, causing flooding and geological disasters that affected 1.22 million people in the province, and leaving 94 people dead or missing.

In July, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Emergency Management allocated central natural disaster relief funds several times to support emergency rescue and relief efforts in severely affected areas across the country.