Photo by Aly Song/Reuters
A rare and unexpected tornado blew across China's eastern Jiangsu province on Thursday afternoon, killing nearly 100 people. The gusts were recorded at speeds of nearly 80 miles per hour, whipping large hailstones through the air and flattening power lines, roads, hospitals, and entire villages.On Thursday night after most of the damage was done, Jiangsu Governor Shi Taifeng reported to the China News Service that at least 98 people were killed during the storm, and another 800 were seriously injured. One villager told the outlet that her "house collapsed within seconds in a deafening noise and I was fortunate enough to be able to crawl out of the debris."Follow VICE News on Twitter: @vicenews
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The tornado comes in the middle of an unusually heavy monsoon season in China. As recently as this past week, at least 22 people were killed in floods from torrential rains in the country's south.The search for survivors from the tornado was officially completed by the provincial fire corps late Thursday night, and a regional clean up is currently underway. These pictures show some of destruction that authorities and residents now face.