Relief effort begins as tornado death toll rises to 98

A soldier carries out the disaster relief work on Friday, the day after a tornado hit Funing county in Yancheng, Jiangsu province. [Photo by Zhu Lixin/China Daily]

"We are trying to dig out people's property as much as we can, to reduce their losses," Fu said. "Another important job is to tear down badly damaged houses."

Xiang Xinlu, a staff member of Yancheng's power supply company, said that many areas of the city reported power blackouts and communication interruptions, and repair work would take at least one week.

Yancheng has activated its highest response system following the extreme weather conditions, according to the city government.

Disaster relief resources, including nearly 1,500 tents and more than 2,000 folding beds, arrived at the disaster zone on Friday.

According to the Red Cross Society of China, more resources were on the way to Yancheng from nearby cities, including Shanghai and Nanjing.

According to China Central Television, more than 15,000 millimeters of blood were collected in just three hours on Friday at a donation station in Yancheng.

Zhu Lixin contributed to this story.