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A building collapse one week ago in central China killed 53 people, state media reported Friday as the search of the large pile of debris ended after rescuers found 10 survivors, Associated Press reported.

Authorities said at a news conference that all the missing had been accounted for as of 3 a.m., state broadcaster CCTV said in an online post.

The residential and commercial building in the city of Changsha suddenly collapsed the afternoon of April 29. Aerial photos showed it pancaked to about the second story between other buildings about six stories tall. At least nine people have been arrested on suspicion of ignoring building codes or committing other violations.

Survivors were pulled out of the rubble over several days. The 10th and last one was pulled out shortly after midnight on Thursday, 5 ½ days after the collapse. All of the survivors were reportedly in good condition after being treated in a hospital, according to the Associated Press.

The arrested include the building owner, three people in charge of design and construction and five others who allegedly gave a false safety assessment for a guest house on the building's fourth to sixth floors. The building also had residences, a café and a restaurant.

Rescuers used search dogs, hand tools, drones and electronic life detectors.

In an account of Monday's rescue of the eighth survivor, state media said rescuers faced an unstable pile of rubble that they had to work around rather than demolish. Prior to the rescue, they were able to feed in video equipment to communicate with the girl and establish that one of her legs was trapped. They also fed in saline solution for her to drink.

An increase in the number of collapses of self-built buildings in recent years prompted Chinese President Xi Jinping to call for additional checks to uncover structural weaknesses.

Poor adherence to safety standards, including the illegal addition of extra floors and failure to use reinforcing iron bars, is often blamed for such disasters. Decaying infrastructure such as gas pipes has also led to explosions and collapses, Associated Press reported.

A storm system spawned several tornadoes that whipped through areas of Texas and Oklahoma, causing damage to a school, a marijuana farm and other structures, Associated Press reported.

There were no reports of serious injuries following the Wednesday night tornadoes, but the system caused flooding in parts of Oklahoma and Arkansas, and more stormy weather took place Thursday.

Significant damage was reported in the Oklahoma city of Seminole, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southeast of Oklahoma City, where Gov. Kevin Stitt said damage assessments were underway after he toured the area Thursday. 

“(We’re) getting all the resources and supplies that the city wants and needs,” including generators, Stitt said. “Thank the Lord that nobody was hurt” and no deaths have been reported.

The National Weather Service said it found damage in Seminole from an EF2 tornado, which has winds speeds of up to 135 mph (217 kph), according to the Associated Press.

More than 2,900 customers remained without power in Seminole late Thursday afternoon, according to Oklahoma Gas & Electric, more than 63% of the utility customers in the city.

The Academy of Seminole took a direct hit but no one was injured, the school said on Facebook.

Video footage from Oklahoma TV station KOCO showed a tornado hit a marijuana farm in the nearby town of Maud.

Several roads and highways were closed Thursday morning in parts of Oklahoma and Arkansas because of flash flooding.

In Bixby, Oklahoma, located south of Tulsa, officials opened a temporary shelter at a church after thunderstorms flooded some homes and streets in one neighborhood. 

In East Texas, a tornado on Thursday damaged several campers and buildings at an RV park in Rusk County, Sheriff Johnwayne Valdez told KTRE-TV. The Rusk County Office of Emergency Management reported one person was injured after being hit by a tree, Associated Press reported.

On Wednesday, a “large and dangerous tornado” was spotted in the rural community of Lockett, about 170 miles (275 kilometers) northwest of Dallas, said the National Weather Service office in Norman, Oklahoma.

The weather service said it found damage near Lockett from an EF3 tornado, which has winds speeds of up to 165 mph (265 kph). 

There were no significant injuries or deaths to residents in Wilbarger County, where Lockett is located, Sheriff Brian Fritze told KAUZ-TV. He said several homes and barns appeared to sustain extensive damage, according to the Associated Press.

Heavy rain and flooding has killed 22 people, destroyed hundreds of homes and damaged crops in Afghanistan, which is already facing a humanitarian crisis, a disaster management official said on Thursday, Reuters reported.

The Taliban government, struggling to cope with the disaster that has affected more than a third of its provinces, will approach international relief organisations for help, officials said.

"Due to flooding and storms in 12 provinces, 22 people have died and 40 injured," said Hassibullah Shekhani, head of communications and information at Afghanistan's National Disaster Management Authority.

The rain and flooding was particularly severe in the western provinces of Badghis and Faryab and the northern province of Baghlan, according to Reuters.

Afghanistan has been suffering from drought in recent years, made worse by climate change, with low crop yields raising fears of serious food shortages.The weather has exacerbated problems of poverty caused by decades of war and then a drop in foreign aid and the freezing of assets abroad after the Taliban took over, and US-led forces withdrew, in August.

Shekhani said 500 houses were destroyed, 2,000 damaged, 300 head of livestock killed and some 3,000 acres of crops damaged.

He said the International Committee of the Red Cross was helping and officials would approach other international organisations for help.

The international community is grappling with how to help the country of some 40 million people without benefiting the Taliban, Reuters reported.

Nepal logged 17 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 2, 336 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 15 returned positive. Likewise, 1, 435 people underwent antigen tests, of which two were tested positive.

The Ministry said that no one died of the virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 15 infected people recovered from the disease.

As of today, there are 217 active cases in the country.