Six dead after freak tornado tears through town in northern China

  • Homes destroyed and trees uprooted as destructive forces rips area apart in 15 minutes
Residents try to pick up the pieces after a deadly tornado destroyed homes and factories in Kaiyuan, Liaoning province, on Wednesday afternoon. Photo: Weibo
Residents try to pick up the pieces after a deadly tornado destroyed homes and factories in Kaiyuan, Liaoning province, on Wednesday afternoon. Photo: Weibo
At least six people died and 190 were injured when a tornado struck a city in northeastern China on Wednesday, according to police.
The freak tornado formed in Jingouzi township in Kaiyuan, Liaoning province, at about 5pm, reaching speeds of about 23 metres per second before weakening after roughly 15 minutes, state news agency Xinhua reported.
A tornado carves a path of destruction through Kaiyuan in Liaoning province on Wednesday. Photo: Xinhua
A tornado carves a path of destruction through Kaiyuan in Liaoning province on Wednesday. Photo: Xinhua
It tore through the township, demolishing homes, uprooting trees, and stripping factories of cladding in the city’s economic development zone, according to a Beijing News video posted online.
The Beijing Times website quoted a resident as saying that she saw at least one car tossed into the air and buildings smashed by the tornado.
Kaiyuan in Liaoning province is counting the toll of destruction from a deadly tornado on Wednesday. Photo: Weibo
Kaiyuan in Liaoning province is counting the toll of destruction from a deadly tornado on Wednesday. Photo: Weibo

“Power went off in surrounding areas as the tornado went by. About two or three minutes later there was thunder and then it hailed,” Red Star News quoted a high school student as saying.

Kaiyuan issued an emergency alert and sent about 800 police officers, firefighters and medical personnel to the area.

Two children killed as bouncy castle destroyed by tornado in China
By Thursday, about 210 people had been rescued and some 1,600 evacuated, The Beijing News said. About 10,000 people were also “displaced”.

“There are 63 people in hospital now with 15 in critical condition,” Beijing Times quoted Yu Shuxin, director of Kaiyuan’s emergency management bureau, as saying.

“Communication systems have recovered in most areas. Electricity infrastructure was severely damaged but we’ll try our best to get the power supply back up.”

The wild weather brought down power lines and cut communications in some areas. Photo: Weibo
The wild weather brought down power lines and cut communications in some areas. Photo: Weibo

Tornadoes are so rare in China, particularly the country’s north, that it does not have a specific alarm for it, according to a website backed by the China Meteorological Administration.

In 2016, 99 people died and more than 800 others were injured in a tornado in Funing county, Jiangsu province.

Source: SCMP

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Law of Unintended Consequences

continuously updated blog about China & India

ChiaHou's Book Reviews

continuously updated blog about China & India

What's wrong with the world; and its economy

continuously updated blog about China & India