Natural disasters in China was expected in 1996. This yield was anticipated despite torrential summer rains throughout China that flooded 32,500 square kilometres (8 million acres) of cropland, caused thousands of deaths, left millions homeless, and cost billions of yuan in damage. The Yellow River crested at its highest recorded level, inspiring fears of a catastrophic dike breach. Nevertheless, over the past 50 years, natural disasters on average had reduced China's harvests by approximately 1% annually. Work proceeded on the world's largest flood-control and hydroelectric project, the controversial Three Gorges Dam on the Chang Jiang (Yangtze River) above Yichang. Chinese planners were considering huge
Fate to Fatal designed by Chris Glass. Not long before this, Glass had designed the logo for U.S. president Barack Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The "Fate to Fatal" design was Glass's first work doing a record cover. Glass, who is related to the Deals through marriage, had been a fan of the Breeders' music and of the work of Vaughan Oliver, who had designed most of the group's covers for 4AD. All of the Breeders' previous albums and EPs had been released on the record label 4AD: up until 2002's "Title TK" Kim Deal was under contract with that