78 dead, hundreds injured in extreme weather in China

Downpours, hailstorms and the worst tornado since 1966 battered parts of Yancheng City at 2:30 p.m., destroying homes and trapping hundreds of villagers in the rubble, Xinhua reports.

More deaths are feared, as search and rescue continued into Friday.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs said 200 people were injured critically.

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. Villages were leveled. Trees and utility poles were uprooted, and motor vehicles were blown away.

A 40,000-square-meter workshop of a joint venture solar energy company also toppled.

Some areas reported blackouts and communication disruptions.

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