Watch: Dangerous sandstorm covers city in northwestern China; police closes major roads
Dramatic videos of a sandstorm engulfing a city located on the edge of the Gobi desert in northwestern China have left social media users distressed
A screengrab of a video capturing the sandstorm in China. Image courtesy: Thairath_News
China, which is already struggling with the aftermath of severe rainfall, flooding and typhoon, was recently hit by a sandstorm. A massive 300 feet wall of sand covered China’s Dunhuang city that reduced visibility to less than 20 feet on 25 July.
According to NBC News, the sandstorm created dangerous driving conditions for people in the city. Due to this, the local police had also closed major roads and requested people to stay indoors.
Meanwhile, dramatic videos of the sandstorm engulfing a city in northwestern China have left social media users distressed. The dust storm came from the nearby Gobi Desert. Check the videos below:
A sandstorm that rose up at least 100 metres (330ft) into the air left the Chinese city of Dunhuang covered in dusthttps://t.co/8Lj2jnVAZT pic.twitter.com/kExiwcYxQy
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) July 26, 2021
สะพรึง 😱 คลิปนาทีพายุทรายพัดถล่มนครตุนหวงในจีน เปลี่ยนทั้งเมืองกลายเป็นสีส้ม#ไทยรัฐออนไลน์ pic.twitter.com/BeCmJSUUiz
— Thairath_News (@Thairath_News) July 27, 2021
In most of the videos, a heavy sandstorm with dust clouds almost 100 metres (330 ft) high can be seen covering the city in Gansu Province. The dangerous sandstorm looks like a huge wall slowly swallowing high-rise buildings and highways. It also caused chaos and alarm, especially among commuters.
Reportedly, concerned authorities issued a ‘yellow warning’ at around 3 pm and local police sprang into action to help commuters reach home.
For the unversed, China has four different colour codes for weather warning systems like sandstorms. Red represents the most severe, then comes orange, yellow, and blue.
Dunhuang is home to the Mogao Caves, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city is located in the Gobi Desert that is commonly known for its harsh climate and living conditions.
