Natural disasters in China kill over 1,000

A total of 1,263 people were killed and another 189 went missing in natural disasters across China in the first three quarters of 2012. According to official figures released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) and the National Committee for Disaster Reduction (NCDR) Friday, 310 million residents on the Chinese mainland were affected by the disasters, which caused direct economic losses of 347.7 billion Yuan ($55.5 billion). About 825,000 houses were demolished and 32.5 million hectares of farmland affected, according to authorities. From January to September, China was plagued with flooding, wind and hail, typhoons, droughts, earthquakes, plant diseases and insect pests, low temperatures, heavy snow and sandstorms, among other natural disasters.