Natural catastrophes, important economic losses for the first nine months of the year

China has been shaken by many natural catastrophes between January and September 2012. The northern and southern parts of the country sustained torrential rain followed by floods. The western part suffered earthquakes while the coastal areas had to cope with typhoons. Over the first nine months of the year, economic losses have been estimated at a total of 55.5 billion USD. More than 310 million inhabitants were affected by these events which led to the death or disappearance of 1 500 people.