国内英语新闻:Death toll rises to 7 in NE China tornado

HARBIN, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Seven people were killed, and 98 more injured after a tornado and hailstorm struck northeast China's Heilongjiang Province Saturday, a local official source said Sunday.

Altogether 8,502 people were affected, among whom 3,684 were evacuated, after 28 townships of Suihua City, about 120 km from the provincial capital Harbin, were hit by the violent weather from 3:15 p.m. to 5:50 p.m. Saturday, Suihua's emergency response office said in a statement.

A total of 1,015 houses were toppled down in the tornado, and Minqiang Village of Gongrong township was hit the hardest, with the roofs of every house being uplifted, it said.

Five people of Beilin District and one from Suihua's Lanxi County were killed. The strong wind tore through eight townships of Hailun city under the jurisdiction of Suihua, killing one more people.

"I was cooking at the outer room when the tornado came. I attempted to close the window, but the wind was so strong and fast that the house collapsed before I could close it," said Wang Junxia, a woman from Xinquan Village of Beilin District, Suihua City.

Wang was temporarily buried beneath bricks, but she managed to crawl out of the rubble and saved by the rescuers.

Relief work was underway.

Two hundred quilts and more than 500 kg of bread were sent to the affected Beilin District.