Natural disasters kill 24 in China

Beijing: At least 24 people were killed in natural disasters across China last month that caused direct economic losses of USD 1.12 billion.

Disasters affected more than five million people and forced the relocation of 330,000 in November, said an official statement issued today.

More than 7,000 houses were toppled while over 247,000 damaged to varying degrees. Disasters affected 661,900 hectares of farmland, with over 67,600 hectares yielding no crops at all.
The disasters were mainly earthquakes and typhoons, while droughts, floods and snowstorms also played their part. The overall damage was heavier than that in the same period last year, the statement said.