A strong tornado as well as hail struck parts of Mingguang City, east China's Anhui Province Wednesday afternoon, damaging a large group of houses, trees and crops, with direct economic losses forecast at 25 million yuan (US$3 million), according to a local source.

The tornado and hailstorm occurred at around 16:00 p.m. on April 20, hitting eight rural towns in the city including Liuxiang, Bogang, Gupei, Ziyang, Sixiang. 230 houses, 2,640 trees and 2,630 ha of cropland were damaged. About 16,000 rural residents have been affected by the disasters, the source said.

The municipal government organized rescue and relief operation teams immediately after the disasters occurred, rushing them to the disaster-affected areas to investigate conditions and provide relief to the victims.

There were no reports of casualties and the local victims were calm.

(Xinhua News Agency March 23, 2005)