Natural disasters left 31 people dead and affected about 5.23 million people in the first quarter of 2015 across China, according to government statistics.
From January to March, 93,000 residents were relocated and 14,000 people needed emergency support, said a statement jointly released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the National Commission for Disaster Reduction on Thursday.
Natural disasters resulted in direct economic losses of 6.3 billion yuan (about 1.03 billion U.S. dollars), causing damage to 169,000 houses and affecting 380,000 hectares of crops.
Earthquakes, cold weather and snowstorms were the main natural disasters during the first three months. Drought, floods, hail, landslides, mudslides and forest fires also caused damage.
Overall damage inflicted by disasters was heavier than that in the same period last year, with a higher death toll and direct economic losses, the statement said.
