BEIJING, Dec. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Floods killed 1,343 people, damaged 7.73 million hectares of crops and caused direct economic losses of 66.6 billion yuan (approximately 8.02 billion US dollars)in China in 2004, according to official statistics of China's Ministry of Water Conservancy.

    Wang Shucheng, minister of Water Resources, said mountain torrents were the major cause of the human casualties.

    "Thanks to intensified precautionary measures, the big rivers and major reservoirs are safe this year. It's a rare achievement in many years," Wang said Wednesday at a national meeting of headsof regional water conservancy departments.

    Wang said the death toll from floods in 2004 dropped significantly from previous years. It was one of the lowest since the 1990s.

    He attributed the result to "scientific flood control methods,"which combined the strengthening of embankments with timely and orderly evacuation operations.

    "So far, the millions of flood victims have been properly takencare of. Their minds are stable and social order is fine," said Wang. Enditem