China storms: Strong winds fling woman into air, tornado plucks man from high-rise building
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "China storms: Strong winds fling woman into air, tornado plucks man from high-rise building")
China has been ravaged by storms this past week because of Typhoon Maysak and Super Typhoon Bavi brewing in the Pacific. Photograph: (X)
China has been ravaged by storms, following Typhoon Maysak that made landfall last week, with Super Typhoon Bavi on its way. A tornado ripped through the Hubei province, lifting a man from his 12th-story apartment.
A tornado ripped through a high-rise building in China, sucking a man from his 12th-story apartment. The incident happened late Monday night in China’s Hubei province, where extremely powerful storms ravaged the region. Videos of the tornado are circulating on the internet, with people showing damage inside their homes. The 30-year-old man miraculously survived the raging tornado and is in the ICU. The tornado reached wind speeds of nearly 150 km per hour, almost the strength of hurricane-force winds.
Not only was the man swept into the tornado, but his house was also almost ripped apart. Cabinets fell off the walls and the sofa was flung away. Even heavy vehicles could not withstand the strength of the tornado, which threw semi-trucks as far as 100 feet. The violent storm ravaged more than 4,800 homes in Hubei. Tornadoes in Hubei are extremely rare, although China does witness a few of them occasionally. The last time one was reported in Hubei was in 2021.
Why did tornadoes hit Hubei?
At least two tornadoes formed in the Hubei province. Citing the reason for them, meteorologists said that cold air from the north collided with warm air brought in by Typhoon Maysak in the south, resulting in the tornadoes. A video shows the strong winds lifting a woman into the air. Another piece of footage shows a man recording the tornado as it approaches him. He continues to film as things inside his home scatter around.
Typhoon Maysak and Super Typhoon Bavi
The severe storm is the result of Typhoon Maysak that swept the southern Chinese province of Guangxi over the weekend. Hubei is hundreds of kilometres away from this region, but it has still faced thunderstorms and a tornado linked to the typhoon. According to state media, at least 17 people have died, hundreds are injured, and tens of thousands have been evacuated.
Xi Jinping orders all-out rescue efforts
President Xi Jinping has ordered "all-out" rescue and relief operations following the devastation. The eastern coast of the country is facing a threat from another storm, Super Typhoon Bavi, churning across the Pacific. It is expected to hit the coast later this week, as per forecasts. The extreme weather has been linked to climate change.
