URUMQI: The number of people who are affected by the harsh cold fronts that have gripped the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has increased to almost one million, and more than 90,000 people have been evacuated, latest official figures show.

A total of four people and almost 40,000 livestock have died in the region. Direct economic losses are estimated at 320 million yuan ($47 million), the regional government announced yesterday.

Rescue workers have evacuated about 92,000 people from rural areas of the region because their houses were either flattened or damaged by the snowstorms or the areas where they live are threatened by potential snow slides as well as a lack of food and water, the government said.