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Shi Jiangtao

A tornado killed almost a hundred people and injured hundreds more as it barrelled through several counties in eastern Jiangsu province in China on Thursday, leaving flattened buildings in its wake, according to officials.

At least 98 people were killed and 800 seriously injured as homes, schools and kindergartens were reduced to rubble in dozens of villages in Funing and Sheyang counties, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said.

Across Yancheng city, at least 500 were ­injured by the extreme weather that accompanied the tornado as it hit shortly before 3 pm local time (0700 GMT).
The provincial government had scrambled 700 firemen from across the province to join the rescue operation, authorities said.

The tornado brought gusts ­recorded at 125 km/h and was ­accompanied by hail stones the size of fists. On the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale where 1 is the lowest and 5 the highest, the tornado which hit is a Category 1 with winds ranging from 119 to 153 km/hr.
Although local meteorological authorities issued extreme weather alerts and began an emergency evacuation shortly after the tornado struck, it was too late to prevent heavy casualties in the area of two million residents. 
Many witnesses said they were caught unprepared. “I was driving when trees along the road suddenly fell down,” one witness told China News Service. “My car was swept by strong winds into a river and I was lucky enough to manage to get out of the car and escape to safety,” he said.
The house collapsed within seconds in a deafening noise
Villager, quoted by China News Service
Another villager said she was outside her house when it “went dark all of a sudden”. “I ran back to my house when tiles and bits of the roof were hurled down by the wind. The house collapsed within seconds in a deafening noise and I was fortunate enough to be able to crawl out of the debris,” she said. Pictures on social media showed houses flattened and the injured being treated in makeshift hospitals. Most roads leading to the tornado-hit areas were cut off with no electricity, telecommunications signals or fresh water.

Provincial authorities said the disaster had caused severe damages across coastal Yancheng. Dozens of the injured were treated in nearby hospitals, while hundreds of others were rescued.
Local weather agencies said the tornado was of an intensity rarely seen in China and warned that heavy rainstorms and gusts might continue into the night, causing greater damage.
China Central Television said several factory warehouses in ­Funing containing toxic chemicals were severely ­damaged. Most workers were rescued.


Tornado kills at least 98 people, injures 800 in eastern Chinese counties

A man walks through the rubble of destroyed houses after a tornado struck in Funing county in Yancheng, Jiangsu province. Photo: AFP

(160623) -- YANCHENG, June 23, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Photo taken on June 23, 2016 shows a damaged building of a technology company in Funing County, east China's Jiangsu Province. Death toll from extreme weather in east China's Jiangsu Province has climbed to 78, the ministry of civil affairs said. Nearly 500 people were injured, 200 critically. Downpours, hailstorms and a tornado battered parts of Yancheng City at 2:30 p.m., destroying many houses, the city government said in an earlier press release. (Xinhua/Yan Xiao) (yxb)

Residents look through the rubble of destroyed houses after a tornado in Yancheng, in China's Jiangsu province on June 23, 2016. Extreme weather, including hailstorms, heavy rain and a tornado, killed 51 and injured dozens in China's eastern Jiangsu province, the official Xinhua news agency reported on June 23. CHINA OUT / AFP PHOTO / STR

tornado yancheng city

Floods and landslides kill 20 in southern China

A rescuer grabs a rope to prevent a raft carrying residents from being flushed away in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

新华社照片，九江（江西），2016年6月19日
    江西部分地区出现强降雨
    6月19日，江西省九江市濂溪区德化路积水严重。 
    当日，江西九江、景德镇、上饶等地出现强降雨引发城市内涝，部分房屋被淹，市民出行受到严重影响。
    新华社发（张瑜 摄）

In this photo taken Sunday, June 19, 2016, residents try to get through flood waters on a scooter in Jiujiang in southeastern China's Jiangxi province. Millions of Chinese across 10 provinces in China have been affected by floods and landslides since heavy rainfall began last week. (Chinatopix Via AP) CHINA OUT

(160619) -- JINGDEZHEN, June 19, 2016 (Xinhua) -- A man carrying his daughter who has just finished her entrance examination for high school walks on a severely waterlogged road in Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi Province, June 19, 2016. Parts of Jiangxi were hit by rainstorm Sunday. (Xinhua/Cheng Wanhai)(wjq)

China braces for more floods as torrential rains lash central and southern areas

Vehicles lie overturned in a flooded street in Liuzhou, in Guangxi on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

(160610) -- RONGJIANG, June 10, 2016 (Xinhua) -- A bridge is damaged by flood in Zaima Township of Rongjiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, June 10, 2016. Three people remain missing after rain-triggered floods in Guizhou Province. From 8 a.m. Thursday to 8 a.m. Friday, heavy rain hit more than 100 townships in Guizhou, (Xinhua/Liu Xu) (lfj)

(160604) -- CONGJIANG, June 4, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Vehicles are submerged in flood in Congjiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, June 3, 2016. The flood caused by torrential rainfall has left two people dead in Congjiang. (Xinhua) (wx)

Flooding paralyses rush hour traffic in southern Chinese cities amid huge downpour

A minibus caught in floodwaters in Guangzhou. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Guangzhou and Shenzhen hit by torrential rains, Flooding paralyses rush hour traffic in southern Chinese cities amid huge downpour this morning. SCMP Pictures (UNDATED HANDOUT)

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Victims say they were unprepared when twister packing 125km/h winds touched down in Jiangsu province


.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Update | Tornado kills at least 98 people, injures 800 in eastern Chinese counties

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Victims say they were unprepared when twister packing 125km/h winds touched down in Jiangsu province

Update | Tornado kills at least 98 people, injures 800 in eastern Chinese counties

Victims say they were unprepared when twister packing 125km/h winds touched down in Jiangsu province