5 killed, 88 injured after tornado hits east China

Five persons have died and another 88 have sustained injuries after a tornado struck Dongming County of east China's Shandong Province on Friday, local authorities have said.

The tornado hit the county seat, Caiyuanji Township and Shawo Township at approximately 2:30 p.m., according to the county's emergency management bureau.

Those who were injured have been sent to hospitals for treatment, and an investigation into the damage caused by the tornado is underway.

The tornado also caused some buildings collapse in a factory in Dongming, but fortunately workers were safe and sound.

Meanwhile, local firefighters assisted in clearing trees blocking roads near the factory.

According to the provincial emergency management department, a tornado occurred in Shandong's Yinan County on Thursday, with no casualties reported.

Shandong averages 1.5 tornadoes every year, according to the data from the National Climate Center.

5 killed, 88 injured after tornado hits east China

Travel in China, the world's second-largest economy, continued to boom on Saturday, the fifth day of China's week-long National Day holiday.

China's railway sector is expected to handle 17.95 million passengers on Oct. 5, and a total of 11,900 passenger trains, including 947 additional trains, have been scheduled to meet robust travel demand.

Expressways continued to see dense traffic across the country, especially in Tianjin Municipality, Zhejiang provincial capital Hangzhou, Anhui provincial capital Hefei, Shandong provincial capital Jinan, and metropolis Guangzhou in Guangdong Province. It is expected that the daily traffic volume on national expressways on Saturday will be about 60 million vehicle trips.

China's civil aviation sector is expected to transport more than 2.3 million passengers on the same day, handling around 16,000 domestic flights and more than 2,600 international flights.

Travel boom continues as Chinese enjoy National Day holiday