Beijing, August 4 (KCNA) -- Hails, strong wind and thunder and other natural disasters hit China in July, causing damage.

According to the office of the State Disaster Reduction Committee, 97 people were killed, 16,000 dwelling houses collapsed and 158,000 houses destroyed in Beijing, 27 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities during the period.

The disasters afflicted a total of 20,165,000 people and caused economic losses amounting to 13.28 billion RMB. Y.

Steps are now being taken to eradicate the aftermath of disasters.