Freak Hailstorm Kills Five In Central China CHINA: April 9, 2008 BEIJING - A freak hailstorm that lasted only half an hour killed five people, injured 66 others and damaged thousands of homes in central China on Tuesday, the official Xinhua news agency said. The storm, with wind gusts of over 100 kilometres (62 miles) per hour, hit Dangyang city, Hubei province, in the early hours of the morning and doused it with 6 centimetres of rain. More than 4,600 homes collapsed, were flooded or lost roofs under the onslaught, killing five people and badly injuring dozens more, 23 of whom were hospitalised, Xinhua quoted local officials saying. Thousands of trees and electricity poles were uprooted and crops destroyed. More rain was forecast in the area on Wednesday. (Reporting by Guo Shipeng; Editing by Emma Graham-Harrison) REUTERS NEWS SERVICE