Twelve people were killed as a tornado hit east China's Zhejiang Province, according to local sources on Sunday.

A gale belt of 800-meter broad and eight-kilometer long swept through the Longgang township, Cangnan County of Wenzhou City at about 11:30 PM Saturday from the sea, according to local meteorological bureau.

The tornado wrecked 156 houses. Sixty-two people were injured in the mishap, with eight described as "in serious condition".

"The 'bizarre wind' smashed all the windows of our four-storey building and tore down my mom's old house in no more than one minute, just like a hurricane," recalled 48-year-old villager Zhang Zhongling, who is under medical treatment together with his wife and mother in hospital.

Experts believe that the tornado was formed under the influence of typhoon Sepat that churned ashore in Chongwu town, Hui'an County of Fujian Province early Sunday morning.

Heading northwestward to the Jiangxi Province, Sepat is forecasted to unleash downpour with the rainfall of up to 400 millimeter in Fujian in next three days.

More than 900,000 people in south China's Guangdong Province and the eastern provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang have been relocated to safety before the typhoon's arrival.

(Xinhua News Agency August 19, 2007)