Thousands of villagers in Fujian Province, on the east China seaboard,
are homeless after hail the size of eggs pelted the area punching
holes in their homes on Sunday.
The provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters
said five counties were hit by hail storms and numerous others were
damaged by thunder storms and torrential rains.
The hail storm destroyed the roofs of many houses in Youxi,
Yongtai, Changle and Minqing.
In Shenghuang Town of Minqing County, one of the worst hit
areas, the roofs of 7,800 rooms were destroyed by hail, affecting
10,000 residents from 4,000 households. The storm caused direct
economic losses of 11.7 million yuan (about US$1.47 million).
Hail also destroyed power supply facilities in Lingkou, a
village in Jian'ou, a county-level city in northern Fujian. About
1,000 people from 400 households in the village were left
homeless.
Between 8 AM Sunday to 8 AM Monday, 18 counties in the province
experienced rainfall of between 50 mm to 99 mm. Ninghua County had
the most rain with 175 mm falling during the 24-hour period, said
sources from the provincial flood control and drought relief
headquarters
The rains caused the water level in two local rivers to surge
above the danger line.
Local weather forecasters say temperatures will drop on Monday
and more rain, strong winds and hail are predicted for many parts
of the province.
So far there have been no reports of casualties.
Local governments are providing aid to those affected by the bad
weather.
(Xinhua News Agency April 2, 2007)