Natural disasters cause economic losses of $3.3 billiona

China’s government said on April 13 that natural disasters, including landslides in Yunnan, flooding on the Yellow River, several cold spells, and a 7.1-magnitude earthquake in Xinjiang, caused direct economic losses of 23.8 billion Chinese yuan ($3.3 billion) in the first quarter of this year, SaltWire reported. The country’s Ministry of Emergency Management added that other natural disasters included a drought in the southwest affecting 424,000 hectares of crops, forest fires in the southwest and south, and sandstorms in the northwest.