Six people were reported dead in Wuhan, in Hubei province, with 218 injured after Friday’s tornado ripped through the district of Caidian at 8:39pm, the agency said.

The tornado toppled 27 houses and damaged 130 more, as well as two tower cranes and 8,000sqm of sheds at construction sites, it added.

Another tornado struck the town of Shengze, in the Suzhou area of tornado-prone Jiangsu province, killing one person and injuring 21, Xinhua said.

Fire officials said the winds damaged electricity facilities and toppled several factory buildings, it added.

Tornadoes often hit Jiangsu in the late spring and early summer.

China’s commercial hub of Shanghai, 100km from Suzhou, was also hit by powerful thunderstorms, prompting weather officials to declare an alert.