Jiangsu has been hit by another deadly tornado the past 24 hours, one which virtually levelled an entire street in the northerly City of Suqian. Several injuries were also reported, while there is very little left of that either side of a 500-metre long road.
It was at around 17:20 on 19 September when the tornado struck Nancai Township in Suqian Economic Development Zone, causing one death, three injuries and varying degrees of damage to some 52 houses.
The tornado also caused the total destruction of many houses along an east-west street in Nancai, while numerous roadside trees were uprooted and even concrete structures damaged. Power lines were knocked out and several transformers caught fire.
According to a Mr. Gong, 51, the catastrophic event lasted just a few minutes. Speaking with the Yangtze Evening News, he said, “I was in the alley at the time. When I saw the wind coming, I quickly ran into the house. The wind was blowing from the west and the sky was full of flying debris. It was so scary; I’ve never experienced anything like it it in my life”.
The fatality of the tornado was another 51 year-old man. Surnamed Su, he was selling dry goods and watermelons on the street when the tornado struck, and was hit by coloured-steel tilings as they collapsed.
Su had two children with the youngest having just joined junior high school. He was the breadwinner of the family; his dry goods store their main source of income.
“I heard that a person had been crushed to death, but I didn’t expect it to be my brother. The family depends on him for their livelihood; the child is not in good health”, said Su’s sister as she started to cry.
Tears were also in the eyes of another lady surnamed Su. The 69-year old was found sat on the rubble of what had used to be the brick building where her family sold groceries. “The damage was too great. I’m just sitting here looking at the destroyed goods”, she said.
Yesterday evening then saw emergency-relief work organised; more than 400 people and over 40 engineering vehicles were organised to bring some order to the destruction in the wake of the EF2-scale tornado.
The Enhanced Fujita Scale defines EF2 tornados as having wind speeds of between 178 and 217 km/h. They can cause entire roofs to be ripped off frame houses; the interiors of frame homes to be damaged; and small, medium and large trees to be uprooted. Other less solid buildings, included sheds, barns and outhouses, are completely destroyed, while many a car will be completely lifted off the ground.
