Beijing: At least 38 people were killed
and more than 190 injured when a tornado coupled with hail
storm and heavy rains hit southwestern China Thursday, damaging
thousands of homes and destroying crops.
The tornado, followed by torrential rains, hail storms
and high winds, killed 38 people and left 190 people injured,
official Xinhua news agency reported.
The death and injury tolls from the storms rose
throughout today. Liangping and Dianjiang counties and Fuling
district were among the hardest-hit.
Six people were killed and 34 others injured in
Liangping county. Seventeen people died and 127 people were
injured in Dianjiang county, according to rough statistics.
In Dianjiang, 980 residential buildings had collapsed
more than 10,000 more were damaged. The damage was estimated
at more than 120 million yuan (USD 17.6 million), said a
spokesman for the county government.
The municipal government has started relief work.
Local officials said tornados never happened in the past and
this was the first time.
Hanjia township in Pengshui county, received 157 mm of
rain in the 24 hours.
The Chongqing municipal civil affairs bureau has sent
300 tents, 1,000 quilts and emergency lights to the affected
regions.
In the eastern province of Jiangxi, torrential rains
forced more than 3,500 people to evacuate their homes, said a
spokesman for the provincial flood control and drought relief
headquarters.
PTI
