1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
Russia's war in UkraineIsrael-Hamas warIndia elections
CatastropheAsia

China: Wuhan tornado kills 8, injures hundreds

May 15, 2021

Tornadoes hit the Chinese city of Wuhan and the town of Shengze, killing several people and injuring more than 400.

https://p.dw.com/p/3tQMy
Rescue workers in Wuhan
A tornado hit the Chinese city of Wuhan, causing massive damage to homes and propertyImage: Xiong Qi/Xinhua/picture alliance

At least 12 people were killed and more than 400 injured as a storm system ripped through central and eastern China Friday night. 

Eight people died and 280 were injured in Wuhan, the capital of China’s central Hubei province, where COVID-19 was first detected in late 2019. 

Local officials said the tornado hit around 8:40 p.m. local time (1240 UTC/GMT). Some 28 homes collapsed and another 130 were damaged.

Officials put economic losses at 37 million yuan (€4.7 million), according to the Hubei Daily newspaper. 

Back-to-back tornadoes 

About 90 minutes before the Wuhan twister, another tornado struck the eastern town of Shengze, some 400 kilometers (250 miles) to the east in Jiangsu province.

Officials said four people were killed. One person was missing and 149 injured. 

The strong winds damaged electricity facilities and damaged several factory buildings, local officials said. 

China Wuhan Tornado
Rescue team members work through the rubble of collapsed buildings in WuhanImage: Xiong Qi/Xinhua/picture alliance

China's Jiangsu province often sees tornadoes in the late spring and early summer.

The country’s commercial hub of Shanghai, nearly 100 kilometers from Shengze, was also hit by powerful thunderstorms, prompting weather officials to issue an alert.

see/wmr (AP, Reuters)