China: Hailstorm - Apr 1989

On 20 April, a hailstorm with winds of up to 28 meters per second swept across several counties in Sichuan province for over 5 hours. The most affected areas were Fushun, Longchang, Yongchuan, Jinyan and Gulin counties including cities of Chongqing, Leshan, Luzhou, Neijiang and Nigong. (UN DHA, 28 Apr 1989)

In the south-east part of Sichuan province, in the west part of which people suffered from a series of earthquakes, they were also affected by severe hailstorms since the end of April. The most affected towns were Luzhou and Zigong. Damage was reported as follows: 157 dead; more than 30 million people in 105 counties affected; 19 million ha of crops stricken; 790,000 mt of grain lost; schools and factories were forced to close their operations. (UN DHA, 19 May 1989)