China's Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) and the national disaster reduction authority have sent work teams to the northwestern province of Gansu to help with disaster relief work after a storm devastated part of the region on Thursday, said the MCA on Friday.
According to the local government, an hour of stormy weather from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. wreaked havoc in three counties and 22 townships and villages, particularly battering Minxian Coty.
At the time of going to press, the death toll from the storm stood at 24. Another 33 people are missing and 40 are injured, after hail and torrential rain destroyed basic facilities, cut power supplies, damaged the communication network and disrupted traffic.
The provincial government has allocated two million yuan (US$317,000) and sent work teams to help with disaster relief work.
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