Hail storms and tornadoes had killed 97 people in China in July, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Sunday. A total of 20.16 million people in 27 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions were affected by the disasters and lots of houses collapsed. Direct economic loss totalled 13.28 billion yuan (2.04 billion U.S. dollars) as of 3 p.m. July 31, Xinhua quoted a statement released by the ministry as saying. Jiangsu, Hubei, Shaanxi, Shanxi and Gansu Provinces were the most seriously hit. Among the 97 deaths, 60 were killed by thunderstrikes. The death toll increased 26.7 percent from the average of July in the recent seven years, it said.
