China Sees 79 Dead in 2000's Marine DisastersMarine disasters caused about 1.6 billion U.S. dollars worth of losses with 79 people dead last year in China, according to a report released by the State Oceanic Administration (SOA).Four killer ocean tide surges were reported last year, leading to 11.5 billion yuan in losses, said Qu Qiang, vice director of the Marine Environmental Protection Department under the SOA. Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces in East China suffered the heaviest direct losses of over 10 billion yuan in the disasters, he added. Red tides hit China 28 times in 2000, almost more than half than in 1999, affecting around 10,000 square km of ocean area, especially in the East China Sea. Red tides were mainly attributed to the increase in ocean pollution, including industrial and living sewage injected into the ocean, Qu said. The report also showed that 63 people died or were reported missing in marine incidents with 1.7 billion yuan of direct losses. |
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