24 killed in natural disasters in Nov

BEIJING - Natural disasters across China in November claimed 24 lives and caused direct economic losses of 6.81 billion yuan ($1.12 billion), according to official figures.

Disasters affected more than five million people and forced the relocation of 330,000, said a statement jointly released on Tuesday by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the National Commission for Disaster Reduction.

More than 7,000 houses were toppled and over 247,000 damaged to varying degrees. Disasters affected 661,900 hectares of farmland, with over 67,600 hectares yielding no crops at all.

Natural disasters last month were mainly earthquakes and typhoons, while droughts, floods and snowstorms also played their part. The overall damages were heavier than those from the same period last year.