Severe convective weather has caused 11 deaths in Hubei, rescue and disaster relief are being carried out orderly.

Reporters learned from relevant departments in Hubei Province on the morning of the 7th that on the evening of July 6, many areas in eastern Hubei Province were hit by severe convective weather, with heavy rainfall and thunderstorms accompanied by gale-force winds. As of now, the thunderstorms and gale-force winds have caused 14,600 people to be affected, 11 deaths, and 1 person missing, and rescue and disaster relief work is being carried out in an orderly manner. The relevant disaster situation is still being further verified.

According to reports, from July 6 to 7, places including Huangshi, Huanggang, Ezhou, and Xianning experienced heavy rainfall and thunderstorms accompanied by gale-force winds. Among them, from 19:00 to 23:00 on July 6, 53 townships experienced thunderstorms and gale-force winds, of which 2 townships reached level 13, and tornadoes occurred in some townships. As of now, the thunderstorms and gale-force winds have caused 14,600 people to be affected, 11 deaths, and 1 person missing, 331 people injured, 996 people taking emergency shelter, and 246 people relocated and resettled; 22 houses collapsed, and 4,855 houses were damaged.

This round of severe convective weather was extremely sudden, with strong winds over a short period of time. After the disaster occurred, the Hubei Provincial Party Committee and the provincial government attached great importance to it, instructing and urging all relevant localities in the province to further improve prevention and control measures, and requiring officials at all levels to immediately get involved in disaster relief, do their utmost to treat the injured, and prevent secondary disasters. (Xinhua News Agency)