Eleven dead as terrifying video emerges of wild storm
Eleven people have tragically died and more than 100 are injured after extreme weather wreaked havoc in a Chinese city near Shanghai.
State-media publication the People's Daily reports eleven were killed as the strong winds and thunderstorms battered Nantong City in the eastern Jiangsu province, with hail reportedly measuring up to three centimetres in diameter.
Terrifying video shared to Chinese social media shows debris ripped from buildings swirling around busy streets as vehicles struggle to navigate through the conditions.
Viral video shows an airplane allegedly swirling in the gale at airport in Nantong, east China's Jiangsu Province. Strong convective weather with a maximum wind speed of 93.9mph on Friday hit the province, leaving 11 dead, 102 injured in Nantong alone as of Sat morning. pic.twitter.com/6P3bogiiz9
— People's Daily, China (@PDChina) May 1, 2021
11 killed, 102 injured by extreme weather in Nantong, East China's #Jiangsu as strong winds, thunderstorm caused the collapse of buildings, trees, and blew people into the river. The extreme weather swept the Yangtze delta late on Friday. pic.twitter.com/vKXbzVOb2l
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) May 1, 2021
The casualties were a result of fallen trees, collapsed homes and broken telephone poles. People were even blown into the Yangtze river, the Global Times reported.
One viral video shows the gale-force winds forcing a plane to turn in circles on a tarmac at the Nantong Xingdong International Airport.
About 3000 people are believed to have been affected by the extreme weather, with People's Daily reporting they have been urgently transferred and resettled as electrical facilities were damaged and homes destroyed.
"I've never seen hail like that in my life," one local wrote on Weibo.
"I was absolutely terrified during the storm," another said.
Thousands took to the Twitter-like site to document the damage caused to their homes.
Shanghai Daily reports nine people have been reported missing following the storms.
Wind gusts were reportedly between 120km/h and 160km/h during the storm's peak, and caused devastating destruction during the four-hour event.
People's Daily reports properties were too lost in the storm and rescue and disaster relief was being organised in the wake of the storm on April 30.
Andre Bloem, a journalist based in China, tweeted during the storm there was a "seriously strong wind howling".
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"It literally blew out the power supply to my apartment," he said.
"Shades of the cyclone that caused damaging winds during my time in Shaoxing back in the summer of 2019."
He added when he left his apartment on Saturday morning there were several broken trees as a result of the deadly weather.
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