A powerful tornado has ripped through China's eastern Jiangsu province killing at least 78 people and injuring hundreds more, according to state media reports.
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The tornado – the area's most powerful in 50 years with wind speeds reaching up to 34.6 metres per second – hit near the city of Yancheng around 2.30pm on Thursday after surrounding counties had already been pummelled with extreme wind, hail and thunderstorms.
Local news outlets were reporting widespread power outages and road blockages due to fallen pylons and trees, as well as numerous damaged and collapsed structures, including a large factory warehouse holding "dangerous chemicals".
Footage circulating on social media showed scores of injured people lying by roads amid flattened houses and overturned cars, as well as chaotic scenes at hospitals overwhelmed with patients.
The southern and eastern parts of China are susceptible to extreme weather events during the summer monsoon months each year, with torrential rain already causing widespread flooding in recent weeks.
Tornados are not uncommon in Jiangsu province, which is just north of Shanghai, but the last one of this ferocity was registered in 1966, according to the province's weather bureau.
With Sanghee Liu
