The moment when there was a violently rotating column of air touching the ground Photo: Screenshot grab from social media footage
Five people have been killed and around 100 injured after a tornado ripped through a town in eastern China, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.
The circulating video on social media showed the tornado ripping roofs off houses and uprooting trees as debris was thrown in the air.
“Severe convective weather caused a tornado,” the Dongming County Emergency Management Bureau said, adding that the local government had established a command center and launched emergency response operations.
According to Xinhua, 2,820 homes were damaged by the tornado in Caiyuan, Shangdong province.
Emergency services are currently conducting “post-disaster disposal and on site clean-up” the Bureau added.
While tornadoes do not occur as frequently in China as they do in the US, they are not unknown. China averages fewer than 100 tornadoes per year, and at least 1,772 people died from tornadoes in the country in the 50 years since 1961, researchers say.
In April, a tornado struck the southern city of Guangzhou, killing at least five and injuring 33, according to Chinese state media.
Earlier this month, the China Meteorological Administration released its annual ‘Blue Book’ on the state of climate change in the country. The report found that the country experienced its warmest year since 1901 and that “extreme weather and climate events tend to be more frequent and severe.”
Other regions of the country are also grappling with extreme weather, as severe drought and record temperatures scorch the north while heavy rains inundate the south.
龍捲風席捲中國東部已造成5人死亡100人受傷
根據官方媒體新華社報道，一場龍捲風席捲了中國東部的一個城鎮，造成 5 人死亡、約 100 人受傷。
社群媒體上流傳的影片顯示，龍捲風掀翻了房屋屋頂，連根拔起樹木，碎片被拋向空中。
東明縣緊急管理局表示，強對流天氣引發龍捲風，當地政府已成立指揮中心並啟動緊急處置行動。
據新華社報道，山東省菜源市龍捲風造成2820間房屋受損。
該局補充說，緊急部門目前正在進行「災後處置和現場清理」。
雖然龍捲風在中國不像在美國那樣頻繁發生，但龍捲風並非聞所未聞。 研究人員表示，中國平均每年發生龍捲風的次數不到 100 次，自 1961 年以來的 50 年間，中國至少有 1,772 人死於龍捲風。
根據中國官方媒體報道，4 月，一場龍捲風襲擊了南部城市廣州，造成至少 5 人死亡、33 人受傷。
本月早些時候，中國氣象局發布了關於中國氣候變遷狀況的年度「藍皮書」。 報告發現，該國經歷了自 1901 年以來最溫暖的一年，“極端天氣和氣候事件往往更加頻繁和嚴重。”
該國其他地區也在應對極端天氣，嚴重乾旱和創紀錄的氣溫燒焦了北部，而暴雨淹沒了南部。
Comments