Last month's massive earthquake destroyed or damaged almost half a million hectares of forests, the State Forestry Administration (SFA) said here Thursday.

The quake affected 431,015 ha of forests in Sichuan and the neighboring provinces, causing losses of 23 billion yuan (3.29 billion U.S. dollars), said SFA deputy director Yin Hong.

Houses, roads, the power network, water pipelines and fire-prevention devices all sustained severe damage, causing 9.41 billion yuan worth of losses in forestry facilities.

Landslides and mud-rock flows undermined 12.91 billion yuan worth of woodland and timber, and 850 million saplings were buried and killed, the SFA said.

(Xinhua News Agency June 12, 2008)