Updated on
Summary The natural disaster affected 36,000 people in Gansu province, forcing evacuation of 2,183 local residents.
Beijing: At least 24 people were killed and 37 others missing in China after a hail storm followed by torrential rains battered a mountainous northwest region, state-run media reported on Friday.The natural disaster yesterday has affected 36,000 people in Minxian county, Gansu province, forcing the area to be evacuated of 2,183 local residents.Provincial Authorities said at least 24 people were killed and 37 others missing in the disaster.Roads were blocked, houses collapsed, and farmland was destroyed by the extreme weather, state and local disaster relief agencies said.Minxians civil affairs bureau put the number of injured locals at 40 in its mid-Fridays casualty report.The stormy weather lasted only an hour from 5 pm to 6 pm, but wreaked havoc in 17 of the countys 18 townships and villages, it said. In the worst-hit areas, precipitation measured nearly 70 mm.Hail and torrential rain cut power supplies in six townships, damaged homes, several hospitals and schools as well as 7,374 hectares of cropland and disrupted traffic on two inter-provincial highways, the county authorities added.
