Difficult Year for China

China has had a hard year, which means the Red Cross has been busy.

1,700 dead, 400 missing from disaster this year: Red Cross (China Daily, 11 Aug '06)

"BEIJING - Natural disasters in China this year have killed 1,699 people and left another 415 missing, the nation's Red Cross Society has said in a report carried by the Xinhua News Agency.

"The disasters have impacted on another 300 million people and led to more than 130 billion yuan (16.25 billion dollars) in economic losses, the Red Cross said Thursday, according to Xinhua.

"The Red Cross said more than five million houses and 32 million hectares (79 million acres) of farmland had been destroyed, adding its figures had been verified by the Ministry of Civil Affairs."