10 dead after tornadoes rip through China

Ten people have been killed and four others seriously injured after two tornadoes tore through eastern China, state media said.

The first tornado hit parts of Suqian city in Jiangsu province on Tuesday afternoon, state broadcaster CCTV said.

It destroyed 137 homes and damaged crop land and pig farms, as well as killing five people and injuring four more.

Hours later, a second tornado claimed five more lives in Yancheng city, in the same province about 190 kilometers (120 miles) southeast of Suqian.

Videos posted online of the first tornado showed cars being tossed about, including one flipped onto its side, and debris swirling in the air above a building.

CCTV said that power and road service had been restored in the Suqian area.

Tornadoes are rare in China but there have been fatal ones in Jiangsu in recent years, one person in the province was killed in a tornado last year and four died in 2021.

Another tornado killed eight people in the city of Wuhan the same day.

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