A tornado struck the province of Jiangsu in China on 23 June and killed at least 98 people and left hundreds more injured.

It has been described as the worst tornado to hit China since 1966.

In addition to the tornado, torrential rain and hailstorms also struck the province, badly damaging the city of Yancheng.

The tornado brought winds of up to 125 kilometres per hour, and destroyed houses, other buildings and was strong enough to lift cars into the air, and crash down elsewhere.

It is estimated that as many as 800 people were injured in the disaster as they were trapped in collapsed buildings or hit by flying debris and affected by the wind and hail.

Rescue efforts began in the wake of the tornado, but the continuing rain has disrupted the search for survivors and delivery of relief to the victims. 2000 people have been evacuated from Yancheng and a hundred more were rescued.

In addition, the tornado follows floods in China which left 22 dead and affected 200,000 people in eight provinces.