BEIJING - State Councilor Yang Jing left Beijing for east China's Jiangsu province on Friday where at least 98 have died and nearly 850 sustained injuries in one of the most fatal natural disasters hitting the region.

Entrusted by President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, Yang will direct the rescue and emergency response work and visit the displaced and injured.

Intense rain, hail and a tornado battered parts of Yancheng City close to the eastern coast of China at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, destroying buildings, trees, vehicles and electricity poles.