Two tornadoes ripped through China's coastal Jiangsu province on Tuesday, killing 10 people and seriously injuring four others.
The first tornado killed five and injured four along with damaging 1,646 houses and destroying crops and farmland in Suqian city, according to Chinese state media.
The second tornado hit later in the evening in Yancheng city, about 190 kilometers from Suqian, killing five more people.
In the aftermath of the tornadoes, Chinese forecasters stepped up warnings of heavy rain and strong winds in the central coastal region, which already has experienced weeks of periodic torrential rains and other destructive weather.
China also issued storm warnings for other areas, including the southwestern region of Chongqing, several areas in southwestern Guizhou, southern Hunan, eastern Anhui and central Hubei.
Parts of China have experienced destructive weather in recent days as a result of Typhoon Haiku. The storms have produced landslides, deaths, and large-scale evacuations.
Tornadoes are not common in the Jiangsu region, but they do occasionally happen, causing numerous reported deaths over the past two years.
Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.
