Man blown from 12th-floor apartment as deadly tornado rips through central China
At least 11 people were killed and more than 331 injured when the tornado that brought winds of up to 260 kilometers (160 miles) per hour struck late Monday evening, leaving houses ripped apart, overturning cars and damaging farmland, according to the Xinhua news agency.
Diners in Hubei, China, captured footage of a violent tornado from inside a restaurant on July 6 as debris swept across the road during deadly severe storms.
Hong Kong (CNN) — A deadly tornado, so powerful that it sucked a man out of his 12th-floor apartment, swept through China’s central Hubei province leaving behind a trail of destruction, according to state media reports.
At least 11 people were killed and more than 331 injured when the tornado that brought winds of up to 260 kilometers (160 miles) per hour struck late Monday evening, leaving houses ripped apart, overturning cars and damaging farmland, according to the Xinhua news agency.
More than 4855 houses were damaged in Hubei, a major industrial hub known for its automotive manufacturing, Xinhua said.
Police officers carry out rescue operations following a tornado on July 6, 2026 in Huangzhou, in China's Hubei Province. (Photo Credit: VCG/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)
One of the worst-affected places was Huanggang city, where the wind was so strong that it sucked a 30-year-old man and some of his belongings, including his sofa and cabinets, from his 12th-floor apartment, local media reported.
Armed police officers carry out rescue operations following a tornado on July 6, 2026 in Huangzhou, Huanggang, Hubei Province of China. (Photo Credit: VCG/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)
The man is now in intensive care in hospital, the reports said.
Elsewhere in the city, several heavy trucks were lifted and moved as far 30 meters by the winds.
Dramatic video showed a large tornado tearing through nearby Ezhou city, where five people were killed.
A rare tornado with winds up to 160 mph tore through Hubei province, China, leaving at least 11 people dead and more than 331 injured. Experts say the severe weather was linked to Typhoon Maysak overlapping with the early-summer rainy season.
Local authorities acknowledged the “immense losses from the disaster” and said more than 3000 people were involved in rescue efforts.
Tornadoes are rare in Hubei province, which experienced its last one in May 2021.
Armed police officers carry out rescue operations following a tornado on July 6, 2026 in Huangzhou, Huanggang, Hubei Province of China. (Photo Credit: VCG/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)
The severe weather in Hubei is a result of Typhoon Maysak overlapping with the early-summer rainy season, experts say, and comes as China’s southwest Guangxi region experiences severe flooding and after a deadly landslide in Gansu province in the northwest.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for an all-out rescue and relief effort, and the resettlement of those affected.
Since Sunday, Typhoon Maysak has brought floodwaters to Guangxi region, where four people have been killed and eight remain missing. More than 600 people were still waiting for evacuation, a local official told media on Tuesday afternoon.
The typhoon has brought enough rain to the region to break 24-hour precipitation records including the city of Hengzhou.
And in one Hengzhou village, the floodwaters pose an additional theat. More than 800 snakes escaped when a snake farm flooded on Monday, an official told local news outlet Hongxing.
Social media video showed snakes poking their heads above the muddy water inundating the village.
One villager had been bitten and is being treated in hospital, while a dozen locals had formed a team to catch the snakes, the Hongxing report said.
While many of the snakes were said to be nonâvenomous water snake and rat snakes, some were cobras, which are considered highly venomous, reported the Xiaoxiang Daily.
CNN’s Fred He and Shuai Zhang contributed reporting
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