Four injured in SW China extreme weather

GUIYANG -- Four people have been injured and over 9,000 residents affected by extreme weather in Southwest China's Guizhou province, local authorities said Sunday.

On Saturday, gales as strong as 44.5 meters per second began to hit Kaiyang county under the jurisdiction of the provincial capital Guiyang, said the emergency management bureau of Kaiyang.

As of 8:30 am Sunday, houses of more than 800 households had been damaged, 75 of which were seriously damaged while one had collapsed.

The affected area of crops and forests reached 876.5 hectares and 60 hectares, respectively, according to the bureau.

The direct economic losses reached 97.78 million yuan (about $15.19 million), with further calculations of the damage underway.