Wild weather kills 24 in South China(2)

The storm swept across the city in just one hour, starting from 3:48 pm, creating difficulties for response and rescue teams, Deng said.

Provincial, city and township officials went to the storm-hit areas in Dongguan to lead the disaster relief work.

Storms disrupted power supply in some parts of Dongguan, as well as some areas in the cities of Zhongshan and Shaoguan in Guangdong.

Deng Haiguang, deputy governor of Guangdong province, arrived in Dongguan to conduct disaster relief work.

Guangdong has entered a season of frequent strong convective weather, with thunderstorms, tornados, hail, heavy rainfall and gusts of wind, the provincial emergency management office warned.

Hailstorms and heavy rains in the north of Fujian province on Wednesday led to a shipwreck that killed at least 11 people, local authorities said on Thursday.

On Wednesday morning, the hail, which fell for about 15 minutes, pummeled several counties in the cities of Sanming and Nanping, destroying crops, houses and livestock.

The violent weather capsized a ferry heading to a dock in Nanping's Xiadao township, leaving 11 people dead and four missing, according to the publicity department of Nanping.

"The hail fell from the sky so suddenly, and dark clouds made the day feel like the night," said a villager surnamed Xiao.

"The wooden boat was reaching the dock, and strong winds pulled it miles away before turning it capsized," Xiao said.

Fujian provincial government has initiated an emergency response, and more than 38 vessels and 300 personnel have been involved in the search and rescue work.

Nanping's publicity department said the ferryboat is a main means of transportation for local residents and most of the passengers were villagers.

Rescue operations are still under way, and the number and identity of missing passengers is being investigated.