Radio Taiwan International
Date: 02 July, 2019
By: Natalie Tso
A tornado hits Pingtung on Monday
A major storm and a tornado hit Pingtung on Monday afternoon. The winds swept through two towns, striking down motorcycles, and smashing 5 cars in its path. Over 7000 households were left without electricity. Some corrugated steel homes were blown across the street. It also hurled a 3.5 ton truck into a house.
The tornado hit Linbian and Nanzhou Townships and swept back and forth across Wanhua Village twice, shocking local residents. One man screamed in terror as he watched the tornado tear through his neighborhood. The tornado formed around 3pm and within 4 minutes damaged hundreds of homes. Two persons suffered minor injuries from flying debris.
The tornado was caused by heat and low pressures in the waters off southern Taiwan forming strong convection currents. It brought much damage to local towns and villages but fortunately there were no major injuries or loss of life.
On Tuesday, the army sent 80 troops to help local residents clean up and restore their neighborhoods. [SOURCE]