Severe Storms Blow Through Pittsburgh, Surrounding Areas

More than a dozen homes and businesses were damaged Monday night after a line of severe storms moved through the city. The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Mercer, Venango and Butler counties at about 8 p.m.

Residents told Channel 4 Action News roofs blew off some homes in Transfer, Mercer County. At one fencing business, model sheds were blown over.

As of 10 p.m., 1,000 Penn Power customers didn't have electricity but a spokesman said crews would be working through the night to get it back on.

In O'Hara Township, a tree split down the middle and smashed through a baby's bedroom window, sending shards of glass everywhere.

Authorities said the tree stopped about 15 feet away from where Hayden Strittmatter was sleeping.

They said insulation was hanging over his crib and pieces of drywall were scattered on top of him.

"I had heard thunder and lightening but for about five minutes, there wasn't a sound," said Hayden's father, Jeff Strittmatter. "It was as still as could be. I just dozed off when it was like a bomb was dropped. The next thing I knew, I was out of bed running towards my son's room. My wife beat me to it. He was in the crib, wasn't even crying. He was fine."

The family next door suffered a similar scenario. Part of the same tree fell in to a bedroom there where the home's owner was sleeping. He was not hurt.

Police said they haven't received any reports of injuries.

Torrential rains destroy 1,300 homes in south China

BEIJING, April 25 (Reuters) - Sudden torrential downpours in China's southeastern province of Guangdong destroyed more than 1,300 houses and forced 20,000 people from their homes, the official Xinhua agency reported late on Tuesday.

The rainfall and thunderstorms also delayed flights to the province's largest airport and destroyed thousands of acres of crops, the paper said, adding that nearly 20 cm (7.9 inches) of rain were recorded in some areas over Monday and Tuesday.

A recent national assessment of the likely impact of global warming said the country's south could face more flooding as temperatures rise.

Last year, China's warmest since 1951, the country was struck by an unusually high number of natural disasters, including a series of storms and typhoons.

Every year, 400 million people and 50 million hectares (125 million acres) of farmland are affected by natural disasters in China, with economic losses reaching 1 to 3 percent of gross domestic product.