Taiwan tornado sweeps up car in dashcam footage

Monday, August 10, 2015, 8:43 AM - A tornado powerful enough to sweep a car off the road was captured on dashcam in Taiwan over the weekend.

In the video above (about 30 seconds in), the driver seems to run a red light and almost collide with a second, white vehicle that, moments later, is engulfed in a tornado. The tornado's strong winds are enough to actually lift the car off the road at one point, and it disappears from view.

To the right, one person appears to be sitting in the road, although it is not clear if he came from within the vehicle, or what his condition is.

The incident appears to have taken place in Tainan City, in the south of the island. The Weather Network has not independently verified the video, and the time stamp shows it is from August 9, 2014. However, a video apparently showing the same tornado from a different angle was posted to Facebook (since deleted). Live Leak, which also posted the video, says the timestamp is incorrect. Another Facebook user posted a video of a funnel cloud in Tainan City.

Weather records from that date in 2014 indicate clear weather with light winds and no precipitation, suggesting the timestamp was indeed improperly set.

The tornado was likely generated in the wake of Typhoon Soudelor, a powerful tropical storm that at one point was the strongest of 2015.

Other footage from the storm includes a plane being lifted slightly off the runway by the storm's strong winds.

The footage has been shared widely, and the Daily Mail reported a plane was lifted slightly off the runway, but The Weather Network has not been able to independently verify whether the video above was shot during Soudelor.

Though not at peak strength when it made landfall in Taiwan on Sunday, Soudelor's powerful winds and heavy rain pummelled the island, killing seven people and leaving five others missing. Among the dead are a mother and daughter who were swept out to sea, while the girl's sister also remains missing, according to CNN.

Widespread power outages were reported, and more than 400,000 people were without access to clean drinking water at one point, according to Focus Taiwan, which also reports more than 4 million households were without power at the storm's peak.

In China, 14 people died in mudslides once the weakened, but still potent storm arrived, according to CNN.

SOURCE: The Weather Network | Focus Taiwan | CNN | Daily Mail