Rescuers try to cut a third rectangular hole on the bottom of the upturned ship in the section of Jianli on the Yangtze River, central China's Hubei Province, June 4, 2015. Rescuers cut two 55-60 cm rectangular hole into the hull of the ship, which carried 450 people when it sank on Monday night after being hit by a tornado, but no signs of life were found. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)
BEIJING, June 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. weather experts back Chinese meteorologists' analysis that a level-12 tornado might have overturned the cruise ship carrying more than 400 people on Yangtze River, an article from Foreign Policy said on Tuesday.
By quoting several U.S. weather experts, the author elaborated the difficulty in tornado prediction, the common occurrence of rotating thunderstorms on Yangtze River, which might be contrary to the perception of China's general public, and the possibility of a cyclone toppling a large boat.
"Tornadoes can indeed spin up with little to no notice," Christopher Strong, a meteorologist with the U.S. National Weather Service, was quoted by Foreign Policy as saying.
While a capable weather bureau can help provide early warnings, that is not possible in all cases, Strong said.
Rescuers try to carry a victim body at the site of the overturned ship in the Jianli section of the Yangtze River, central China's Hubei Province, June 3, 2015. There were over 450 people onboard the passenger ship Eastern Star when it sank "within one or two minutes" after being hit by a tornado in Jianli, Hubei Province, according to the ship's captain and chief engineer, who both survived. As of Tuesday night, 14 people had been rescued, with seven others confirmed dead and about 430 missing in what could be the worst shipping disaster for nearly seven decades. More than 4,600 rescuers, including hundreds of divers, battled bad weather on Tuesday as they searched for the missing passengers, many of them elderly tourists. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)
The article also pointed out that even though tornadoes are rare in China - much less frequent than in the U.S. - they do occur.
Thunderstorms are actually common on the Yangtze River, especially during the rainy season, including supercell thunderstorms that make almost all the strong tornadoes and very large hail, a senior research scientist with the National Severe Storms Laboratory told Foreign Policy.
Harold Brooks said that the available data, though limited, strongly suggests that the environment was "favorable" for tornadoes on Monday.
The article also used a previous U.S. incident as an example to illustrate the possibility that a tornado can overturn a large boat. A dinner theater showboat capsized on a Kansas lake in 1978 after it was hit by a tornado too small to be detected on radar, with 15 of the 59 passengers killed. The owner of the boat later said the crew had had less than two minutes to react.
Rescuers work at the site of the overturned ship in the Jianli section of the Yangtze River, central China's Hubei Province, June 3, 2015. There were over 450 people onboard the passenger ship Eastern Star when it sank "within one or two minutes" after being hit by a tornado in Jianli, Hubei Province, according to the ship's captain and chief engineer, who both survived. As of Tuesday night, 14 people had been rescued, with seven others confirmed dead and about 430 missing in what could be the worst shipping disaster for nearly seven decades. More than 4,600 rescuers, including hundreds of divers, battled bad weather on Tuesday as they searched for the missing passengers, many of them elderly tourists. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)
Chinese meteorologists on Tuesday had confirmed that a sudden, strong and violent storm did occur at a section of China's Yangtze River where a cruise ship carrying 456 people sank on Monday night.
The tornado-like wind, measuring more than 12 on the Beaufort scale, lasted about 15 to 20 minutes and centered on the Yangtze River when the ship was struck and capsized at around 9:28 p.m. (1328 GMT) Monday near Jianli, Hubei Province, experts with the China Meteorological Administration said.
As of 8 a.m. (0000 GMT) Thursday, 14 people had been rescued, with the death toll climbing to 65.
