Terrfiying tornado touches down in West China

A shepherd in China was in for a shock last week when he discovered a tornado that appeared as if from nowhere.

The footage shows the spiral whipping up the sand and earth around it thousands of feet into the air as the shepherd films from a distance.

The Weather Channel reports that this tornado took place in the west of the country.

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A tornado in early June caused a cruise ship to capsize on the Yangtze River in the country. Chinese authorities were put to the test as the attempted to rescue the 400 people who had been on board at the time.

According to Storm Aware, a tornado is a "rotating, funnel-shaped cloud that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground."

The winds in a tornado can reach speeds of around 300 miles an hour with some damage as far as 50 miles away.

The deadliest tornado in history is thought to have been The Daulatpur-Salturia tornado in 1989, according to the Richest.

The tornado hit a drought affected area in Bangladesh, claiming the lives of 1,300 leaving more than 10,000 people injured and 80,000 homeless.

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