CSU/CIRA & KMA/NMSC/DOCUMENT VIA REUTERS
A satellite image shows Typhoon Bavi crossing the Marianas and continuing west across the Philippine Sea on Monday in this screenshot from a distributed video. Two tornadoes caused damage in central China’s Hubei province, killing at least 11 people, as winds of up to 150 km/h overturned cars and tore roofs off buildings, state media said today.
BEIJING >> Two tornadoes caused damage in central China’s Hubei province, killing at least 11 people, as winds gusting up to 150 km/h overturned cars and tore roofs off buildings, state media said today.
For four hours on Monday evening, gales measuring level 13 on the Beaufort Extended Wind Strength Scale swept through the cities of Huangshi, Huanggang, Ezhou and Xianning, Xinhua news agency reported, citing Hubei emergency management authorities. At least one person was still missing, according to the report.
Tornadoes are extremely rare in Hubei, a major hub of industry, automobile manufacturing and technology, Wang Xiaoling, an expert at the provincial meteorological bureau, told Hubei Daily. The last tornado in the province dates back to May 2021.
China, the world’s second-largest economy, is increasingly exposed to extreme weather events that experts attribute to climate change. Torrential rains, scorching summer heat and strong winds cause tens of billions of dollars in economic losses each year, disrupting industry and destroying crops.
Footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed rescue workers in Huanggang peering into the cabin of a badly damaged truck that appeared to have been shredded by corrugated iron torn from the roof of a nearby building. Another clip showed a wrecked white car being slammed into a lamp post also surrounded by twisted sheets of metal.
The National Meteorological Center said northeastern Hubei should prepare for further heavy or torrential rain today.
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It also warned of heavy rain in parts of the southwestern Guangxi region, the southern provinces of Guangdong and Hainan, and the more northern provinces of Jilin, Shandong and Liaoning, among other areas.
The Guangxi region, still reeling from Typhoon Maysak, which killed at least six people and left 11 missing in recent days, should brace for extremely heavy rain of up to 10 inches over the next 24 hours, which could trigger landslides, the forecast added.
Two people are still missing after a landslide in a mountainous county in western China’s Gansu province, state media reported. A total of 33 people were swept away early in the morning.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for “all-out efforts” to rescue those affected by the floods, CCTV reported today.
China is also facing Super Typhoon Bavi, which is crossing the Pacific towards Taiwan and is expected to make landfall along China’s east coast over the weekend.
Super Typhoon Bavi will begin to affect Taiwan from Friday, with the strongest winds and rain expected later today and Saturday.
Taiwan Chief Cabinet Secretary Xavier Chang said in a Facebook post that Bavi could bring more than 3.3 feet of rain to parts of the island and that nearly 29,000 military personnel are on standby to help with relief efforts.
Bavi is expected to weaken slightly as it approaches northern Taiwan, but it may remain a relatively strong typhoon, with strength ranging from the lower end of a strong typhoon to the upper end of a moderate typhoon, the island’s meteorological administration said.
The storm packed winds of up to 180 mph as it swept through Guam, Tinian, Saipan and Rota on Monday.
Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Taipei.
