12 dead in tornado strikes in China
- More than 300 people also hurt in central and eastern parts of the country
- About 26,000 homes affected by power outages
Back-to-back tornadoes killed at least 12 people in central and eastern China and left more than 300 others injured, officials and state media reported on Saturday.
Eight people died in the inland city of Wuhan and four others in the town of Shengze, about 400km (250 miles) east in Jiangsu province, local government statements said.
A tornado first struck Shengze at about 7pm on Friday, toppling factory buildings and damaging electricity infrastructure, state news agency Xinhua reported. The Suzhou city government, which oversees the town, said in a social media post that four people had died and 149 others had minor injuries. Shengze is near Shanghai on China’s east coast.
A tornado then hit Wuhan at about 8.40pm with winds of 86 km/h, destroying more than two dozen homes and triggering a power outage affecting 26,600 households, Xinhua reported. The Wuhan government said eight people had died and 218 were injured.
Xinhua said 27 homes collapsed in Wuhan, and another 130 were damaged. Construction site sheds and two cranes were also damaged, while downed power lines knocked out electricity, the news agency reported.