Tornadoes and storms in central China kill at least 11 people

BEIJING (AP) — Tornadoes and storms hit central China, killing at least 11 people and injuring hundreds, state media reported on Tuesday, while areas in the south suffered record-breaking rain.

Thunderstorms battered parts of Hubei province’s eastern region on Monday night, affecting 14,600 people, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. More than 330 people were injured, and one person remained missing, the agency said, adding that over 20 houses collapsed and 4,800 others were damaged.

A rare EF2 tornado swept through the city of Huanggang, where a logistics company and a warehouse were hit hard and multiple trucks were lifted and displaced by winds as much as 30 meters (98 feet), Xinhua reported.

A video posted by Shanghai Daily on X appeared to show people on the ground floor of a building screaming as high winds blew open the glass doors, shattering one.

Tornadoes are usually recorded in southern and coastal provinces, such as Guangdong and Jiangsu, according to China Weather News, which is run by the China Meteorological Administration. They are rare in Hubei, and multiple factors, including the remnants of Tropical Storm Maysak, contributed to those that swept the region on Monday night, meteorological expert Wang Xiaoling told the Hubei Daily newspaper.

Meanwhile, in southern China, officials said six people had died, and 11 others were missing as record-breaking rain from Maysak caused widespread flooding in the Guangxi region, affecting 375,000 people, of whom 130,000 evacuated, according to the Guangxi regional propaganda office.

Regional officials said 341 reservoirs with water levels exceeding flood control limits in the region, water levels at 56 stations have exceeded warning marks.

“There is a high risk of piping, landslides and structural collapses,” warned regional official Cai Yunge, due to reservoirs and river embankments subjected to prolonged high-water saturation.

Infrastructure including drinking water supplies, roads, power grids and communication facilities in some cities have been significantly damaged, said Cai at a news conference.

Posts on China’s social media show people’s urgent pleas for rescue saying they failed to reach out to their family members in the flood-hit region.

More than 8,000 rescuers were sent to the region, along with over 1,700 vehicles, said Cai.

Guangxi issued a red alert, the highest level, for flooding on Tuesday. River levels rose to up to 7.5 meters (25 feet) above warning levels, according to Xinhua.