Estimated Costs To China From Freak Winter Weather - $7.5 Billion

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London, 7 February: China’s worst winter weather for perhaps 50 years has damaged more than a million homes, killed more than 60 people and resulted in economic losses of $7.5 billion, according to the country's ministry of civil affairs.

Nineteen provinces in China, almost two-thirds of the country, have been lashed by severe winter storms for the last four weeks. An estimated 100 million inhabitants have been directly affected by the weather, such as through the loss of power and water, said the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) secretariat.

“So-called ‘freak weather’ is becoming more common and reducing the vulnerability to these unexpected extremes must be a top priority for governments,” said Geneva-based ISDR director Sálvano Briceño.

“The intensifying effect of climate change on weather, combined with global trends of rapid urbanisation and environmental degradation, will lead to ever more complex disasters involving more and more people,” he added.

EDIT

http://www.environmental-finance.com/onlinews/0702fre.html