Clean-up, repair work underway in tornado-hit towns of China's Guangdong province

Road clean-up and power repair work was underway in several tornado-hit towns of south China’s Guangzhou City, capital of Guangdong Province on Sunday, one day after the extreme weather event killed five locals and injured 33 others.

Around 15:00 Saturday, the strong tornado hit the Guangming, Chendong, Jinpen, and Liangtian villages of the Zhongluotan Town of Guangzhou City.

Rescuers were removing the downed trees and the rubbles of the collapsed buildings. Communication workers and vehicles were also dispatched to restore communication services.

Extensive blackouts occurred in the villages of Guangming, Chendong, and Liangtian, where the strong tornado caused damage to local power supply facilities.

According to the Guangzhou Power Supply Bureau, the tornado affected three transformer stations in the Zhongluotan Town, affecting about 19,000 households in the service region.

The bureau said that currently, emergency response is underway to restore power supply.

The search and rescue work was about to finish as of 22:00 Saturday, said the local authorities.

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing early Thursday morning for a state visit to China.

At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Putin will pay a state visit to China from May 16 to 17.

As this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia, Xi and Putin will exchange views on bilateral relations, cooperation in various fields, and international and regional issues of common concern during the visit, according to Wang Wenbin, spokesman of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.