BEIJING: Natural disasters in China left nearly 900 people dead or missing in July, state media reported Wednesday, as a powerful tropical storm approached the eastern coastline.Some 712 people died and 163 went missing during particularly tumultuous weather conditions in July, the China Daily reported, citing the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

“This year, the country has experienced abnormal weather conditions causing floods, landslides and drought in a number of provinces,” the ministry said, adding that the situation was “far worse than last year.” So far in 2007, some 1,279 people have died in China and 239 have gone missing in floods, landslides and other natural calamities, according to the ministry.

Disasters of various kinds have affected 280 million people — or more than one in every five Chinese — and made 6.15 million homeless, the paper said.

Material damage is estimated at 110 billion yuan ($14.5bn), the ministry said, according to the China Daily.

As the ministry's sombre statistics were published in state-controlled media, residents of the densely populated east coast were bracing for the arrival of tropical storm Pabuk.—AFP