Tornado in China Rips Man, Sofa and Cabinets from 12th-Floor Apartment

The tornado featured winds of up to 160 miles per hour, according to reports

NEED TO KNOW

• A tornado in China’s Hubei province killed 11 people, injured over 330 and damaged more than 4,855 homes
• A man was pulled from his 12th-floor apartment by the storm and is now in intensive care
• Experts link the rare tornado to Typhoon Maysak overlapping with the region’s early summer rainy season

A powerful tornado tore through central China’s Hubei province Monday, July 6.

The tornado has reportedly killed at least 11 people, injured more than 330 others and caused such intense winds that a man was reportedly sucked from his 12th floor apartment.

The tornado packed winds of up to 160 miles per hour, ripping apart homes, overturning vehicles, damaging farmland and leaving more than 4,855 houses damaged across the province, according to CNN, citing Xinhua News Agency.

Among the hardest-hit areas was Huanggang, where local media said the storm pulled a 30-year-old man—and some of his belongings, including a sofa and cabinets—from his apartment. 

The man, identified only by the last name Zhang, was found unconscious outside the apartment building by his cousin, identified only by the last name Liu, who lived on the 20th floor, according to Channel News Asia.

Liu said he went to check on Zhang and his family after noticing a neighbor’s window had been shattered by the powerful winds.

As Liu knocked on the door, he heard Zhang’s wife crying that her husband had fallen from the building, the outlet reported. He immediately rushed downstairs to look for him.

“When I found him, he was already unconscious, with only faint breathing,” Liu told Hunan based news outlet Xiaoxiang Morning Herald, according to Channel News Asia.

The man is now in intensive care at a hospital, CNN reported.

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Tornadoes are uncommon in Hubei, with the last one recorded in May 2021, CNN reported.

Experts say the severe weather was caused by Typhoon Maysak overlapping with the region’s early summer rainy season, the news outlet reported. The storm comes as parts of southern China face severe flooding and a deadly landslide recently struck the country’s northwest.

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