Japan faces an uphill battle in creating the systems and finding the people it needs to plug these vulnerabilities, officials and experts say
The tornado hit Chifeng, a city about 650 miles (1,046 km) east of Hohhot, the capital of the autonomous region, on Friday afternoon, the People's Daily newspaper and news agency Xinhua said.
State media showed pictures of collapsed houses and buildings flattened by the storm, which destroyed at least 30 houses in three villages and affected 270 people, the People's Daily said.
The injured were being treated in hospital and authorities have launched relief efforts, Xinhua added.
Inner Mongolia is China's top coal producing region.