Gales, hail batter thousands in China's Jiangxi

NANCHANG, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Some 19,000 residents have been affected since extreme weather hit east China's Jiangxi Province, authorities said Sunday.

From Friday, gales and hail were seen in 11 counties, cities or districts, including Yongxiu County in the city of Jiujiang and Changjiang District in the city of Jingdezhen.

As of 9 p.m. Saturday, houses of more than 340 households had been damaged, according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.

The direct economic losses reached 13.97 million yuan (about 2.17 million U.S. dollars), while further calculations of the damage are underway.

The headquarters organized the timely evacuation of residents to minimize the potential casualties, and to date, no casualties have been reported.