Hubei Tornado and Severe Storms

Severe convective weather, fueled by the combined effects of the remnant circulation of Typhoon Maysak interacting with China's seasonal plum rain front, struck eastern Hubei Province on the evening of July 6, 2026. A large wedge-shaped tornado touched down in Ezhou, crossed the Yangtze River, and swept through the Huangzhou wetland park area before tearing through Huanggang Normal College, with wind speeds reaching Force 8-13 and two townships recording Force 13 gusts (roughly 40 meters per second). Tornadoes of this scale are extremely uncommon in the region.

As of the latest state media reports, the storms had killed at least 11 people and left one person missing across Hubei, with 331 injured and approximately 14,600 people affected. More than 4,800 houses were damaged and 22 collapsed. In Huangzhou District, 103 residents from 81 households were evacuated to safety, while in Ezhou 178 people were relocated to shelters after 155 households sustained damage. Nearly 3,000 emergency personnel were mobilized for search, rescue, and cleanup operations. President Xi Jinping urged "all-out" rescue efforts as authorities in Huanggang, Ezhou, Huangshi, and Xianning continued to assess structural damage to hotels, hospitals, colleges, and homes.