Hong Kong —
A tornado powerful enough to suck a man out of his 12th-floor apartment has ripped through central China’s Hubei province, leaving a trail of destruction, state media reported.
A tornado with winds of up to 260 kilometers per hour (160 mph) ripped through homes late Monday night, overturning cars and damaging farmland, killing at least 11 people and injuring more than 331, according to Xinhua news agency.
More than 4,855 homes were damaged in Hubei province, a major industrial center known for car manufacturing, according to Xinhua news agency.
One of the worst-hit areas was Huanggang, where the winds were so strong that a 30-year-old man living in an apartment on the 12th floor and some of his belongings, including a sofa and cabinet, were blown away, local media reported.
According to reports, the man is currently receiving intensive care at a hospital.
Elsewhere in the city, several large trucks were lifted and moved as much as 30 meters by the winds.
Dramatic video showed a large tornado tearing through the nearby city of Ezhou, killing five people.
Local authorities acknowledged the “huge losses caused by the disaster” and announced that more than 3,000 people had taken part in rescue efforts.
Tornadoes are rare in Hubei province, and the last one was in May 2021.
Experts said the severe weather in Hubei province came after Typhoon Meisak, which coincided with the early summer rainy season, caused severe flooding in southwestern China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and caused deadly landslides in northwestern Gansu province.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for all-out rescue and relief operations and resettlement of affected people.
Since Sunday, Typhoon Meisak has caused flooding in Guangxi, leaving four people dead and eight missing. Local officials told media on Tuesday afternoon that more than 600 people were still waiting to be evacuated.
The typhoon brought a record-breaking 24-hour rainfall to areas including the city of Hengzhou.
And in one village in Hengzhou, flooding is creating yet another stage. A snake farm was flooded on Monday and more than 800 snakes escaped, officials told local news outlet Hongxing.
Videos on social media showed the snake poking its head above the muddy water flooding the village.
According to Hongxing’s report, one villager was bitten and is being treated at a hospital, while more than a dozen locals have formed a snake-catching team.
According to a report by Xiaoxiang Daily, most of the snakes were non-venomous water snakes and rat snakes, but some were cobras, which are thought to be highly venomous.
CNN’s Fred He and Shuai Zhang contributed reporting.
