BEIJING -- Natural disasters across China killed 3,186 people in 2006, the highest death toll in eight years, said a senior civil affairs official here on Thursday.

Natural disasters caused direct losses of 252.8 billion yuan (34.6 billion U.S. dollars) in 2006, also the highest figure in eight years, said Li Liguo, Vice Minister of Civil Affairs.

The year 2006 saw various natural disasters, including typhoons, floods, droughts, winds and hail, earthquakes, low temperature, snow disasters, landslides, mud-rock flows, plant diseases and insect pests.

About 1.93 million houses were demolished and 41.1 million hectares of farmland affected.

Li said the government spent 11.19 billion yuan on disaster relief in 2006 and civil donations totaled 3.58 billion yuan.

He said the death toll in 2006 was 25 percent up on the average for the 1999-2005 period and nearly 30 percent up on 2005.

"There are direct and indirect reasons for the marked increase in the death toll," said Li.

"The direct reason was the devastating typhoons," said Li.

Two of last year's six typhoons were particularly deadly. On July 14, the year's fourth typhoon, Bilis, swept six provinces and killed 843 people. On August 10, the eighth typhoon, Saomai, hit two provinces and killed 483 people.

The two typhoons alone killed 1,326 people, accounting for 41.6 percent of the total natural disaster death toll in 2006.

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