Five killed by tornadoes in east China

JINAN, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Five people were confirmed dead after tornadoes struck the Heze City in east China's Shandong Province, said local authorities on Saturday.

Tornadoes hit the Dongming County and the Juancheng County on Friday afternoon, leaving 88 people injured. Five of them were later confirmed dead after medical treatment failed, according to Heze's emergency management bureau.

Preliminary investigation showed that a total of 2,820 houses, 60,900 mu (4,060 hectares) of crops and 48 power supply lines were damaged in the disaster.

Thanks to overnight repair efforts, local roads, communication, water and power supplies have been basically restored, while local rescuers are evacuating and resettling the affected people. A taskforce has been deployed to carry out a comprehensive survey of the damage to residents' houses and infrastructure.

Shandong averages 1.5 tornadoes every year, according to data from the National Climate Center.