FUNING, June 23, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Photo taken on June 23, 2016 shows a tornado-damaged power pole in Funing County, east China's Jiangsu Province. A tornado hit Funing County Thursday afternoon. (Xinhua/Yang Ya)
NANJING, June 23 (Xinhua) -- Fifty-one people died and dozens were injured in extreme weather in east China's Jiangsu Province Thursday, local authorities confirmed.
Downpours, hailstorms and a tornado battered parts of Yancheng City at 2:30 p.m., destroying many houses, the city government said in a press release.
It said the extreme weather was reported in several townships of Funing and Sheyang counties in the suburbs of Yancheng.
Gales of 125 km per hour battered several outer townships of Funing County, while in Sheyang, the winds reached 100 km per hour.
Many houses collapsed in the gales, with 51 deaths reported and dozens of injuries as of 8:30 p.m.
Top officials of Yancheng City are leading rescue and relief efforts in the affected villages.
