At least 17 people were killed and 118 injured in south China's Guangdong Province as of Monday after hailstones, cloudburst and strong wind ravaged the region, flood control authorities said.


HTML clipboard Photo taken on April 17, 2011, shows a wire pole which fell down in a wind storm in an industrial zone in Foshan City of south China's Guangdong Province, April 17, 2011. (Xinhua/Chen Binghui)
Gales as strong as 45.5 meters per second, accompanied by hailstorm and lashing rain battered cities including Guangzhou, Foshan, Zhaoqing and Dongguan on Sunday, a spokesman with the province's flood control headquarters said.


HTML clipboard Photo taken on April 17, 2011, shows the steel shields on the buildings of an enterprise which were damaged and fell off in a wind storm in an industrial zone in Foshan City of south China's Guangdong Province, April 17, 2011. (Xinhua/Chen Binghui)
The victims were mostly killed by walls and work sheds collapsed in strong wind, as well as objects that fell from buildings, he said.


VietNamNet/Xinhuanet