Rescuers carry an injured villager in Danping Village of Chenliang Township in Funing, Yancheng, east China's Jiangsu Province, June 24, 2016. (Xinhua/Han Yuqing)
Wang Bing rummages for his cell phone and bank deposit book in the rubble that was his home until 36 hours ago.
"I was charging my phone near the fridge," said Wang, 62. "And that deposit book carries the whole family's savings."
But no traces of them are found in the ruins, where only pieces of broken furniture are recognizable in a pile of red bricks and gray tiles: a bedpost, a table, a chair and a sewing machine.
Wang's daughter retrieved a small parcel in the rubble Friday afternoon, but nothing valuable was inside.
The daughter complained her family suffered at least 20,000 yuan (3,024 U.S. dollars) in economic losses in the deadliest tornado and hailstorm to hit their hometown in Yancheng City, east China's Jiangsu Province, in five decades.
But Wang felt lucky enough to be alive.
When the disaster struck at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Wang was having a nap with his wife and grandson in their four-bedroom house in Chenliang Township of Funing County, one of the worst-hit areas.
"It suddenly became pitch dark and hails rained down on the roof like pebbles," he said.
Before they could flee the house, tiles had begun falling down from the roof. "We found shelter in a corner of our bedroom, between the wall and a wardrobe."
Wang's wife carried their grandson in her arms, and Wang stood hunchbacked to protect the woman and child from the falling tiles and bricks. Blood streamed down his head and he was prepared for the worst.
"But the worst was over after about 20 minutes," he said.
When the storm trailed off, he looked around and realized the whole house had toppled, except for the ramshackle wall behind them. "God must know that here were three lives to spare."
The disaster left its mark on Wang's broken head and back, as well as his grandson's mind. "Our house is falling down," the four-year-old still cries in his sleep Friday night.
Their next-door neighbors, a 25-year-old woman and her toddler, died in the ruins of their toppled home. The woman was pregnant with her second child.
DEADLY WEATHER
A total of 98 people were killed in the severe storms that battered several towns in Yancheng Thursday. About 846 people suffered injuries, 200 of them were seriously wounded.
More than 8,600 houses, two elementary schools and eight factory buildings were damaged as gales of over 100 km per hour battered several outer townships of Funing and Sheyang counties.
Yan Lifa, 62, was on his way to collect tap water fees in Xuliang town, riding a motorbike.
