- 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.

Extreme weather was reported in several townships in 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.

Some regions reported blackouts and communication interruptions.

Witnesses said they saw huge trees falling and whole villages were leveled. Victims were dragged from the ruins of their homes and rushed to hospital.

"I heard the gales and ran upstairs to shut the windows," said Xie Litian, 62, from Donggou township of Funing County. "I had hardly reached the top of the stairs when I heard a boom and saw the entire wall with the windows on it torn away."

As he ran downstairs, the roof collapsed. "I crouched in a corner of the ground floor for at least 20 minutes, afraid to move."

When the gales subsided and Xie escaped, all the other houses in the neighborhood were gone. "It was like the end of the world."

Xie said he saw utility poles uprooted and his tractors was blown away. "I was drowned in my own sorrow, until I heard moans for help from a neighbor buried in the debris of her home."

Xie helped the woman out and took her to a hospital 10 km away on his motorbike. "The road was blocked with rubble and fallen trees. Halfway to the hospital, I met my nephew driving a truck. Together, we put the women into his truck and drove on."

Xie said at least three villagers he knew were dead. "This is the worst day I've ever faced," he said.

Top officials of Yancheng City are leading rescue and relief efforts in the affected villages.

A State Council work group headed by deputy minister of civil affairs Dou Yupei is en route to Yancheng. The ministry has dispatched relief materials, including more than 1,000 tents and 2,000 folding beds, to the affected regions

source : xinhua