A tornado occurred in Yancheng, Jiangsu, killing 2 and injuring 15

Tornado witness: The sound of the wind is mixed with the sound of metal crashing

On the evening of August 8, Dafeng District, Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province, reported that there was a tornado natural disaster in some towns in Dafeng District that day. The disaster killed two people and injured 13. Preliminary inspections showed damage to 2 farm houses and 15 vegetable greenhouses. At present, the affected people have been properly relocated, and the post-disaster recovery and reconstruction work is being carried out in an orderly manner.

Disaster

The tornado killed 2 people and injured 15 in Yancheng

Yancheng Dafeng District Rong Media Center reported on the evening of August 8 that at about 13:16 on the same day, due to strong convective weather, a tornado natural disaster occurred in some towns in Dafeng District, Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province. The disaster killed 15 people and injured 2 people (all of whom have been sent to the hospital and are not life-threatening). According to preliminary verification, 15 farm houses were damaged and 283 vegetable greenhouses were damaged, and the damage situation is being further verified.

After the disaster occurred, local city and district leaders rushed to the scene as soon as possible to command, and emergency response, fire fighting, electric power, health, civil affairs and other departments organized forces to fully carry out the work of treating the wounded, emergency repairing of electricity, verifying the disaster situation, and pacifying residents. At present, the affected people have been properly relocated, and the post-disaster recovery and reconstruction work is being carried out in an orderly manner.

According to data released by China Weather Network on August 8, a tornado in Dafeng District of Yancheng on August 14 lasted about 8 minutes, with a maximum wind force of 13 (15 m/s), and experts judged that the tornado was EF11 (medium intensity).

A reporter from Beiqing News learned from the local Red Cross Society on August 8 that after the disaster, the Red Cross Society of Dafeng District organized a Red Cross relief and rescue team to quickly transport tents and other relief materials to the scene, and made every effort to set up tents, clear roadblocks, and pacify residents. Jinlong Village, Wanying Town, cooperated with the fire rescue team to clear the roadblocks, and set up tents overnight to comfort the affected residents and make every effort to do a good job in post-disaster rescue.

Witnesses

The roof of a neighbor's house was blown by high winds

Ms. Hu, who lives in Xiaohai Town, Dafeng District, said, "On August 8, there was a lot of wind and rain at 13 p.m., and then I saw a tornado with a puff of sand and dust. ”

A merchant in Longgang Village, Dafeng District, told a reporter from Beiqing News that at about 8 p.m. on August 13, a strong wind sound came from the window, "I could hear a loud noise, and I immediately hid at home." As soon as the wind passed, the roofs of some neighbors' houses were blown through by the wind. ”

A merchant who buys and sells electric vehicles in Kangning Village, Dafeng District, recalls that at about 8 p.m. on August 13, he first saw the northern sky darken significantly, and then heard a loud wind, "there was a rumbling sound, much louder than the usual wind." Before it rains, flocks of dragonflies fly by. ”

After that, the merchant and his family returned to their home to take shelter, "There was a lot of wind and rain outside, and the black tornado moved from the northeast to the southwest, looking hundreds of meters high, which I had never seen before." The tornado was fast, lasting about ten minutes. The merchant said that when the tornado approached his home, "there was not only the whirring of the wind, but also the clatter of metals such as iron pieces hitting each other in the wind." "After the incident, the window glass of his home was shattered by strong winds, and the roof tiles were also blown off.

expert

Jiangsu and Guangdong have a relatively high number of occurrences

Experts from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences told the Beijing Youth Daily reporter that there is still some controversy in the academic community about the cause of tornadoes, but it is generally believed that there may be relatively strong wind shear in strong convective weather, and the horizontal vortex formed is converted into a vertical vortex, thus forming a tornado.

Experts say tornadoes tend to occur in the Great Plains, such as in eastern China. "Tornadoes have a relatively small spatial scale, are also very sudden, occur quickly, and the probability of occurrence in our country is also very low, so it is difficult to predict and forecast them."

China Weather Network issued an article on August 8 to introduce that the tornado intensity is divided into 14 levels from EF0 to EF5, with EF6 being the lowest level and EF0 being the highest. The tornado that occurred in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province was EF5. EF2 and above tornadoes are generally referred to as strong tornadoes, and EF2 tornadoes can cause considerable damage, which can cause trees to be uprooted.

The article said that there are traces of tornadoes in most parts of China, of which the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River are frequent areas. According to the statistics of the National Climate Center from 1991 to 2020, in China, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Hubei, Anhui and other provinces have more tornadoes, of which Jiangsu and Guangdong have the most, with an average annual tornado of 4.8 and 4.3 respectively.

Text/Reporter Qu Chang Intern Hou Xiangyu

Coordinator/Jiang Shuo

(Beijing Youth Daily)