KUNMING - Fifteen people were killed and nine others were left missing in natural disasters that occurred in Southwest China's Yunnan province over the first half of the year, local authorities said Wednesday.

Floods hit the province hard in July, resulting in direct economic losses of 87 million yuan ($13.72 million), the provincial department of land and resources said.

Statistics from the department showed that while the province experienced just 32 geological disasters in the first half of the year, another 233 disasters occurred from the beginning of July to August 5.

The geological disasters, mainly landslips and mudslides, were triggered by heavy rains, said Li Lianju, deputy director of the department.