17 killed, 118 injured in south China hailstorm

Gales as strong as 45.5 meters per second, accompanied by hailstorm and lashing rain battered cities including Guangzhou, Foshan, Zhaoqing and Dongguan on Sunday, a spokesman with the province's flood control headquarters said.

The victims were mostly killed by walls and work sheds collapsed in strong wind, as well as objects that fell from buildings, he said.

As of late Sunday, the disasters have affected 506.7 hectares of farmland and caused about 50 million yuan (7.65 million U.S. dollars) in direct economic losses, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The provincial government has dispatched a team to the disaster-affected areas to direct relief work, said the ministry.

Also in the southwestern province of Guizhou, hailstones pounded 10 counties on Friday and Saturday, disrupting the lives of 270,000 people and causing 75 million yuan in direct economic losses, local authorities said. Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.xinhuanet.com for full version