China: Severe weather, including rare tornado

Beijing (CNN)At least 98 people were killed and 800 more were injured after a tornado -- accompanied by hailstorms, thunderstorms and lightning -- hit eastern China early Thursday afternoon, the government said.

The extreme weather, packed with winds up to 125 kilometers per hour, destroyed homes and factories and tossed cars into the air in parts of Yancheng City in China's Jiangsu Province, according to a statement posted online by the local authorities.

"When the tornado hit, the wind was howling and the sky turned as dark as night," a local villager told CNN by phone Friday. "Almost all the houses here have collapsed."

The resident, who wanted to be identified only by her family name Qiu, described the flattened village looking like the aftermath of a powerful earthquake, adding that her niece suffered minor injuries.

Beijing (CNN)At least 98 people were killed and 800 more were injured after a tornado -- accompanied by hailstorms, thunderstorms and lightning -- hit eastern China early Thursday afternoon, the government said.

The extreme weather, packed with winds up to 125 kilometers per hour, destroyed homes and factories and tossed cars into the air in parts of Yancheng City in China's Jiangsu Province, according to a statement posted online by the local authorities.

"When the tornado hit, the wind was howling and the sky turned as dark as night," a local villager told CNN by phone Friday. "Almost all the houses here have collapsed."

The resident, who wanted to be identified only by her family name Qiu, described the flattened village looking like the aftermath of a powerful earthquake, adding that her niece suffered minor injuries.