8 killed, 109 injured after deadly tornado hits central Myanmar

Over 200 houses, two Buddhist monasteries, and a small clinic were destroyed

Tornado in Naypyitaw destroyed dozens of houses with hundreds in shelters (EPA)

A tornado that hit two villages in central Myanmar has left eight people dead and over 100 injured, according to officials.

The tornado struck Aung Myin Kone and Tadau villages on Friday evening near capital Naypyitaw, causing widespread damage to the area.

Local charity organisations have taken 128 people to hospitals and 232 houses in the two villages were destroyed, Thet Paing Soe, a leading member of the Doh Lewe charity organisation, told the Associated Press.

Two Buddhist monasteries and a small clinic were among the structures destroyed.

“The tornado blew for approximately 40 minutes. Almost all the houses in the villages are quite badly damaged. The restoration will take months,” Mr Soe told the news agency.

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the head of Myanmar’s military-installed government, visited the disaster area on Saturday and provided aid to residents, state-run MRTV television reported.

Photos and videos on social media showed strong gusts of wind moving at an incredibly high speed, tearing through the village with immense force.

In one clip, powerful gusts are seen blowing through trees and roofs of houses getting ripped off and sent flying in the direction of the tornado’s path.

Photos of the devastation show houses left in shambles with trees fallen down.

According to Kyaw Moe Oo, a director-general at the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology, major tornadoes are rare in Myanmar, and smaller tornadoes that occur in the pre-monsoon period rarely cause death or serious damage.

“During this period, there are frequent tornadoes in the lower parts of Myanmar, but there are few casualties. These kinds of fatalities in central Myanmar are rare,” he told AP.

Myanmar experiences extreme weather almost every year during monsoon season. In 2008, cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 people.