Man Sucked Out of 12th-Floor Apartment by Tornado

A monster tornado ripped through central China with such terrifying force that it sucked a man — along with his sofa and cabinets — straight out of his 12th-floor apartment.

At least 11 people were killed and 331 others injured after tornadoes and violent storms tore across Hubei province late Monday, July 6, leaving neighborhoods buried beneath twisted metal, shattered glass and the remains of destroyed homes.

The severe weather affected approximately 14,600 people across the major industrial and automotive manufacturing hub. Twenty-two homes were completely destroyed, while another 4,855 were damaged, according to Chinese state media.

Huanggang was among the hardest-hit cities.

There, the winds reportedly tore a 30-year-old man from his high-rise apartment, pulling furniture and other belongings out with him. The man survived the horrifying fall but was rushed to a hospital and remained in intensive care, according to local media reports.

The tornado was so powerful that several heavy trucks were lifted from the ground and thrown as far as 30 meters, or nearly 100 feet.

Dramatic footage from nearby Ezhou showed a massive funnel cloud carving through the city as residents scrambled to escape. Five people were reportedly killed in Ezhou alone.

Officials acknowledged the “immense losses” caused by the disaster as more than 3,000 police officers, firefighters, emergency workers and volunteers joined rescue and recovery operations.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping called Tuesday for an all-out effort to rescue survivors, provide disaster relief and relocate residents whose homes were destroyed or left unsafe.

Tornadoes are considered extremely rare in Hubei. Before Monday’s devastation, the province had not recorded one since May 2021. Experts said lingering moisture and unstable weather connected to Typhoon Maysak helped create the dangerous conditions.

However, the tornadoes were only one part of a widening weather catastrophe gripping China.

Farther south, Typhoon Maysak unleashed deadly flooding across the Guangxi region, killing at least four people and leaving eight others missing. More than 600 residents were reportedly still waiting to be evacuated Tuesday afternoon.

The storm dumped record-breaking rain on several communities, including the city of Hengzhou, where floodwaters created a terrifying new threat.

Between 800 and 900 snakes escaped from a breeding farm after it was overwhelmed by muddy water Monday.

Video shared on Chinese social media showed snakes lifting their heads above the floodwaters as they moved through an inundated village.

Although officials said many of the escaped reptiles were nonvenomous water snakes and rat snakes, some were highly venomous cobras.

At least one villager was bitten and taken to a hospital for treatment. More than a dozen residents from nearby communities formed a team and began searching flooded homes and streets to capture the loose snakes.

The deadly weather follows a landslide in northwestern China’s Gansu province and comes as communities across the country battle torrential rain, flash floods and destructive winds.

With homes destroyed, entire neighborhoods flooded and dangerous animals now loose in the water, rescue crews are racing to reach stranded residents as authorities warn that the full scale of the disaster may not yet be known.