The night of our birth, a thunderstorm had cracked a tree in the courtyard of the new church, setting the building afire.

我们出生的那个晚上，雷暴劈裂了新教堂大院里的一棵树，使建筑着了火。

youdao

The night of our birth, a thunderstorm had cracked a tree in the courtyard of the new church, setting the building afire until it was no more than a charred sliver of steeple and smoking pews.

我们出生的那个晚上，雷暴劈倒了新教堂大院里的一棵树，整个建筑着了火，最后只剩下了烧焦了的尖塔裂片和冒着烟的教堂板凳。

youdao

Everyone in our family sleeps like a log, so no one heard the thunderstorm in the middle of the night.

家人都睡得很沉，没人听到半夜的打雷声。

youdao

To make matters worse, the whole night there was a severe thunderstorm and the noise of the rain and lightning along with the tremors has kept everyone shaking and scared.

BBC: NEWS | Have Your Say | Are you affected by the Asia quake?