Around 1:55 p.m., the rain subsided in Me Linh district, but dark clouds remained, and strong winds picked up. Suddenly, a tornado formed beneath the dark clouds near Nhat Tan Bridge, connecting the ground to the high clouds.

The tornado then moved toward a residential area. Nguyen Linh, who was inside a restaurant in the Hoa Phong area on Road 23B in Me Linh, witnessed the wind howling as tree branches, debris, and signs were swept down the street.

"The gust lasted about two minutes, damaging many shops along a 100-meter stretch of Road 23B. Some businesses had their signs ripped off, while others had their dish cabinets blown over. A parked car had its windshield smashed by a flying tree branch," Linh recounted.

After the wind subsided, people realized it had been a tornado. Fortunately, no one was injured by the flying debris.

The tornado uproots trees and scatters debris in Me Linh. Photo: Nguyen Linh

A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that extends from the ground to a cumulonimbus cloud (a thick water cloud), forming a moving funnel. Most tornadoes form from thunderstorms, especially electrically charged ones.

A thunderstorm can last for several hours, swirling within a 10- to 16-kilometer diameter, and travel hundreds of kilometers, generating numerous powerful tornadoes. In its path, a tornado can sweep up or destroy everything. From a distance, a tornado can appear black or white, depending on what it has picked up.

Hanoi is currently experiencing the remnants of Typhoon Kajiki. The typhoon made landfall in Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces yesterday afternoon and weakened into a tropical depression over central Laos this morning. The remnants of the typhoon will continue to bring thunderstorms to the northern delta and midlands, as well as the north-central region, for the rest of today.

Gia Chinh