Tornadoes and Floods Cause Death and Destruction in Central China

At least 11 people have died and hundreds more have been injured after a series of tornadoes struck a central province in China. State media reported this on Tuesday.

Eastern areas of Hubei province experienced severe thunderstorms on Monday night. The harsh weather affected approximately 14,600 people, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. Over 330 individuals were injured, one person is missing, more than 20 houses collapsed, and over 4,800 structures were damaged.

A rare EF2 tornado hit the city of Huanggang, damaging several buildings. A logistics company and a warehouse complex were particularly affected. Winds lifted and moved several trucks up to 30 meters (98 feet), as reported by Xinhua.

Video footage shared by Shanghai Daily appeared to show people on the ground floor of a building shouting as strong winds forcibly opened glass doors, shattering one of them. Tornadoes are usually reported in southern and coastal provinces like Guangdong and Jiangsu, says China Weather News, which is part of the China Meteorological Administration.

Hubei rarely experiences such weather events. Expert meteorologist Wang Xiaoling told the Hubei Daily that remnants of Tropical Storm Maysak played a role in Monday night’s tornado activity.

In southern China, officials reported that four individuals died in the city of Hengzhou, and eight others are missing. Record rains connected to Maysak caused widespread flooding in the Guangxi region, as Xinhua reported.

More than 53,000 people have been evacuated from Hengzhou, and another 8,000 were moved from Binyang County, reported Xinhua. Guangxi issued a red alert for floods on Tuesday, the highest level of warning. River levels rose up to 7.5 meters (24 feet) above the warning threshold.

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This story was translated from English by an AP editor with assistance from a generative artificial intelligence tool.