23 dead as tornado hits Chinese mega-city

[Giuseppe]

23 dead as tornado hits Chinese mega-city

[Source: Radio Netherlands Worldwide, View Original Article. Extract.]



At least 23 people were killed and more than 160 injured when a tornado struck China's southwestern mega-city of Chongqing Thursday, smashing homes and destroying crops, officials and state media said. The tornado -- followed by torrential rains, hail storms and high winds -- hit two rural counties in the giant municipality at around 2:00 am (1800 GMT Wednesday), Xinhua news agency said, citing government sources. Officials were working to tally the number of dead and injured, as well as the number of homes damaged. "Tornados never happened here in the past -- this is the first time," Liu Fang, a local township official in Liangping county, one of the hardest-hit areas, told AFP by phone. "So far, six have died and 38 are injured in our township. The electricity has been cut, and some houses were damaged due to the strong wind. We're still gathering information on the toll."

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[Giuseppe]

Re: 23 dead as tornado hits Chinese mega-city

Disastrous weather in southwest China leaves 26 dead, 161 injured

[Source: Kyodo, View Original Article.]

Twenty-six people were killed and another 161 injured in strong winds, hailstorms and torrential rains that swept southwest China's Chongqing municipality overnight, state-run media reported Thursday. The China News Service reported that wind speeds in some areas reached up to 112 kilometers per hour, while Xinhua News Agency said ''numerous houses'' were toppled In the municipality's Liangping county, six people died and 34 were injured after a tornado and hailstorm swept through the area at 2:00 a.m. local time, Xinhua said.
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