As of 12:20 am on Tuesday, severe thunderstorms and strong winds in Hubei had affected 14,600 people, leaving 11 dead, one person missing, and 331 injured. Rescue and disaster relief efforts are proceeding in an orderly manner, while authorities continue to verify the full extent of the damage, the Xinhua News Agency reported, citing local authorities.
Multiple local residents told the Global Times on Tuesday that they were surprised by the tornado, which is rare in the region, describing severe damages to buildings and homes.
From Monday to Tuesday, cities including Huangshi, Huanggang, Ezhou and Xianning were hit by thunderstorm gales, with wind speeds reaching Force 8 to 13 in 53 townships, causing 14.6 thousand people affected by the disaster and 331 people injured, per Xinhua. Two townships recorded Force 13 winds, while tornadoes were reported in some areas. Authorities said the full extent of the damage is still being verified, while rescue operations are fully underway, with 246 relocated.
According to real-time data from Hubei Weather, as of 11:00 am on Tuesday, meteorological authorities across the province had issued a large number of weather alerts over the previous 18 hours. Although some earlier warnings had expired, 86 weather alerts remained in effect, mainly for rainstorms, severe convective weather and strong winds. Authorities urged residents to closely monitor weather and flood conditions and take precautions against potential disasters.
Following the disaster, nearly 3,000 personnel from several units stationed in Huanggang were mobilized for rescue and relief efforts. In Huangzhou District, 103 residents from 81 households in high-risk and dilapidated housing areas were safely evacuated and properly accommodated, per CCTV News.
According to the CCTV News report, the thunderstorm gales over Huangzhou District resulted in fallen trees, casualties in residential communities, damaged vehicles and damaged storefronts.
Ezhou activated a red alert for severe convective weather at 7 pm on Monday night. As of 5:10 am on Tuesday, preliminary statistics showed that 428 people had been affected by the disaster, with five confirmed dead and 178 relocated to safe shelters. A total of 155 households, involving 378 housing units, were damaged, CCTV News reported, citing the Ezhou Emergency Management Bureau.
Videos posted on social media by residents in the district showed a wedge-shaped tornado funnel touching down in Ezhou before crossing the Yangtze River and striking the wetland park area in Huangzhou, then sweeping through Huanggang Normal College. Footage shared online showed shattered windows, severe damage to interior facilities and partial roof collapse at the university.
Sally, a student at the college, was in her dormitory when the tornado struck. She told the Global Times that she initially did not think it was a tornado.
“I went to the window and saw pieces of the exterior wall falling off and roadside trees snapping. Then I heard people shouting in the hallway,” she said. “At first, I thought it was an earthquake because tornadoes are extremely rare in Hubei. It never crossed my mind that it could be a tornado.”
She said her other three roommates in the dormitory were too frightened to leave their room. Electricity was not restored until Tuesday morning, leaving the area without power for more than a dozen hours.
A student studying in the college library during the tornado posted pictures on social media showing that shattered windows caused injuries to several students, some of whom were taken to hospital after being cut by broken glass.
Residents living near the college and in nearby neighborhoods were also affected. A resident surnamed Zou, who lives on the 10th floor of Linglong residential compound, told the Global Times that around 8 pm lightning and thunder suddenly intensified, followed by the sound of breaking glass.
“When I came out of my bedroom, all four balcony windows had shattered and the window frames had collapsed,” Zou said. “The refrigerator was blown across the apartment to the front door, cabinet doors were ripped off, and much of the furniture was severely damaged.”
“I’ve seen many reports about extreme weather in southern and central China recently and had heard about Typhoon Meisak, but I never imagined a tornado would hit here. We often have heavy rain in this area, but tornadoes are very rare,” Zou said.
According to Hubei Daily, Wang Xiaoling, chief meteorological expert with the Hubei Meteorological Service, said tornadoes are extremely uncommon in the province. The last recorded tornado occurred on May 14, 2021, in Caidian District of Wuhan.
Wang said the latest tornado resulted from the combined effects of multiple weather systems. The remnant circulation of Typhoon Meisak interacted with the plum rain front over Hubei, generating exceptionally warm and moist airflow, while a cold vortex moving southward from northeastern China brought cold air into the region. The collision between the warm and cold air masses, together with strong vertical wind shear between the surface and upper atmosphere, created the rotating winds that developed into a tornado.
The expert also explained that while thunderstorm gales are capable of toppling trees and ripping roofs from buildings, tornadoes are far more destructive. The tornado produced winds reaching Force 13, equivalent to around 40 meters per second. Its extremely low central air pressure created powerful suction capable of overturning multi-ton vehicles, while debris such as branches, roof tiles and metal fragments became dangerous high-speed projectiles.
