Type Tornado Highest winds >165 mph (266 km/h) Date 23 June 2016 | Max rating Damage Unknown Location Jiangsu, China | |
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Formed 23 June 2016 ≈ 2:30 p.m. (UTC+8:00) Casualties 99 fatalities, 846 injuries | ||
On the afternoon of June 23, 2016, a severe thunderstorm produced a large, violent tornado over Jiangsu province, China. Striking areas along the outskirts of Yancheng around 2:30 p.m. local time, the tornado killed at least 99 people and injured 846 others (152 critically). The China Meteorological Administration later ranked the tornado as an EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita scale.
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Background
During the late spring and early summer, a semi-permanent frontal boundary—called the meiyu front—emerges across eastern China, Taiwan, and Japan. This feature leads to prolonged periods of heavy rain and thunderstorms which frequently cause damage. Rainfall along this boundary tends to be particularly heavy in post-El Niño summers, such as the summer of 2016. On June 23, 2016, a band of intense thunderstorms roughly 970 km (600 mi) across developed along the meiyu front in eastern China. One particular storm complex over Jiangsu Province spanned 400 to 480 km (250 to 300 mi) and produced a tornado near Yancheng around 2:30 p.m. local time (0630 UTC). The tornado was accompanied by a hailstorm. Damage analysis found damage consistent with EF4 intensity, and the China Meteorological Administration rated the tornado as an EF4, with maximum sustained winds greater than 240 feet per second, or 165 mph (266 km/h).
Impact
The large, wedge-shaped tornado carved a wide path of destruction through Funing and Sheyang counties in Jiangsu province, leaving behind catastrophic damage as it impacted the outskirts of Yancheng. Wind speeds of up to 125 kilometres per hour (78 mph) were measured at the edge of the city. Thousands of masonry-construction homes were damaged or destroyed, with many completely leveled. Manufacturing plants, businesses, and rice mills suffered from similar destruction, and multiple large factory buildings were severely damaged at a Canadian Solar plant. A large school building sustained major structural damage as well. Many vehicles were tossed and destroyed; trees were completely denuded and debarked; and numerous metal power line pylons and truss towers were bent and crumpled to the ground. First responders reported bodies strewn across devastated communities.
Response
At least 99 people were killed and 846 others were injured, including 152 in critical condition. China's news service, Xinhua, called the event one of the deadliest disasters to hit Jiangsu in decades, and the deadliest tornado to hit China in half a century. Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang requested "all-out rescue efforts" to aid victims and survivors. Hundreds of residents were left trapped in rubble. The event was declared a national-level disaster. Disaster response teams were deployed from Beijing that evening, providing 1,000 tents, 2,000 beds, and floodlights.