51 dead in extreme weather in eastern China

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Extreme weather, including hailstorms, heavy rain and a tornado, killed 51 and injured dozens in China’s eastern Jiangsu province, the official Xinhua news agency reported Thursday.

The storms hit Yancheng city in the province around 2:30 pm (0630 GMT) on Thursday, levelling homes, it said.

Many parts of China have been lashed by torrential rains this week as summer rainstorms have been heavier than usual, causing damage across the country.

In central China heavy floods killed 22 people and displaced 197,000, state media said on Monday.

Direct economic losses from the floods hit nearly 2.7 billion yuan ($410 million), state media reported.

China’s vice premier Wang Yang said days earlier that China faced volatile weather conditions due to the influence of El Nino.