Deaths and major damage reported in China hail storm

Up to 18 people have been killed and 155 injured in south China's Guangdong Province as a result of hailstorms and strong winds in the region, according to reports.

Gale-force winds of up to 100 miles an hour, heavy rains and hailstones battered the cities of Guangzhou, Foshan, Zhaoqing and Dongguan on Sunday, a spokesman with the province's flood control headquarters told Xinhua.

The authorities say those who died where struck by falling objects or collapsing walls.

The storms have affected more than 3,200 people, and at least 45 houses have been destroyed, the BBC reports, while millions of dollars of damage have resulted.

The civil affairs ministry put the cost of the damage at 96 million yuan ($14.7 million). About 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) of crops were damaged, state media reported.

Guangdong provincial government has dispatched a disaster relief team to examine the worst-hit areas, the ABC reports.