Hail kills 14 in China

At least 14 people were killed and more than 180 were injured in a severe hail storm that destroyed thousands of homes across eastern China's Anhui province, authorities said. More than 10,000 people had to be evacuated and nearly 9,700 houses collapsed in the storm on Sunday that caused an estimated 450 million yuan ($82 million) worth of damage, Anhui's Civil Affairs Bureau said. Hail and winds of up to 104 kilometres per hour lashed the province for nearly 90 minutes on Sunday afternoon, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

It was the second severe hail storm to hit the province this month. The first killed 23 people and injured more than 200 in the first week of June, officials said. The Civil Affairs Bureau has warned more extreme weather could follow and called for local officials to draw up emergency plans.


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