Watch: Moment rare tornado lashes central Chinese cities

At least 11 people have died after severe thunderstorms swept cities in central China’s Hubei province, state media reported.

Tornado videos have been circulating online, taken from the neighbouring cities of Ezhou and Huanggang.

A student in Huanggang city told the BBC that he had thought it was “just an ordinary thunderstorm”, until he saw “things started flying through the air outside” the dormitory window.

“A lot of students were cut by flying glass,” he said. “It wasn’t until everything had finally stopped that I realized I had just lived through a disaster.”

This is a rare occurrence for the region, which last recorded a tornado in 2021, according to state media.

The storms have damaged thousands of buildings and injured more than 300 residents, say local authorities, which have launched rescue and relief operations.