Beijing: A dangerous tornado wreaked havoc in the Dongming County of China's Shandong Province, leaving at least five people dead and injuring another 88, according to authorities. The tornado hit the county seat, Caiyuanji Township and Shawo Township at approximately 2:30 pm (local time), according to the county's emergency management bureau.
Those who were injured have been sent to hospitals for treatment, and an investigation into the damage caused by the tornado is underway. The tornado also caused some buildings to collapse in a factory in Dongming, but fortunately, workers were safe and sound.
Authorities said that 2,820 houses, 48 power supply lines and over 4,000 hectares of crops were damaged. Communication, power and water supplies have since been restored, as per Xinhua news agency. Meanwhile, local firefighters assisted in clearing trees blocking roads near the factory.
Shandong averages 1.5 tornadoes every year, according to the data from the National Climate Centre. Tornadoes are usually seen in China's southern and coastal provinces such as Guangdong and Jiangsu, according to China Weather News, run by the China Meteorological Administration.
In late April, a tornado caused wide devastation in the southern city of Guangzhou, killing five people, injuring dozens of others and damaging more than 140 buildings. Guangzhou is the capital of Guangdong province and a manufacturing hub near Hong Kong.
The tornado hit several villages in Guangzhou’s Baiyun district. In one, packing material known as “pearl cotton” hung from buildings and trees, a report on the Southern Media website said. It blew into the compound of a nearby furniture company, where workers took shelter in a private home after the metal roof was ripped off their building, the news website reported. Workers were rolling up the material to be carted away for disposal on Sunday.
Dam breach in China
In separate news, around 5,700 residents were relocated after waters breached a dike at China's second-largest freshwater lake in the south of the country, while rescue workers rushed to contain further damage from outflows, Chinese state media said on Saturday.
More than 2,300 rescue personnel were working to build a second line of defence for floodwaters after Friday's breach across a 226-metre (740-foot) area in Hunan province, China Central Television reported. No casualties or injuries have been reported from the incident so far.
Heavy rainfall pounded parts of the Hunan province earlier this week, causing the Miluo River in Pingjiang County to swell to its highest in 70 years. Local authorities responded by activating the maximum emergency response level. State media showed large parts of towns waterlogged and stranded people being rescued on boats.
(with inputs from Reuters, AP)
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