A tornado tore through the Russian Far East city of Blagoveshchensk on Sunday night, leaving one dead and at least two dozen injured. Extensive damage was sustained to the tune of 80 million rubles or $2.9 million, according to Accuweather.com.
Blagoveshchensk is a city of 220,000 residents and is located across the Amur River border between Russia and China. Officials in the city have declared a state of emergency after the tornado struck and it was reported that the twister ripped roofs off of at least 100 houses and damaged about 150 cars.
The website Business Insider posted amateur video footage of the tornado, showing the twister throwing debris as it strikes buildings.
RIA Novosti posted photos of damage from the tornado and reported that it was on the ground for 13 minutes. The Russian news site also stated that military cadets were engaged in cleanup of the damage left by the twister.
While tornadoes are most commonly reported in the United States and Canada because weather conditions are most ideal for the formation of twisters, they are not unheard of in other countries around the world.
Other countries around the world that have been known to see tornadoes and even occasional tornado outbreaks include Bangladesh, Argentina, Western Europe, South Africa, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and yes, Russia . The country does experience tornado outbreaks and in June 1984, an outbreak struck north of Moscow in the Ivanovo and Yaroslavl regions. This outbreak is believed to have left around 400 people dead.
According to Weather Underground, Russia may be right behind the United States in the number of tornadoes per year due to the country's massive size and potential for small tornadoes, but generally they do not have the deadly power seen in the U.S.
The United States by far has more tornadoes and the highest number of deadly tornadoes per year, but Bangladesh holds the record for being the site of the deadliest tornado in the world, in recorded history.
On April 26, 1989, a tornado near Dacca left 1,300 dead. Other tornado events in Bangladesh have brought death numbers that are also staggering. A May 1995 tornado in the city of Tangail left 700 dead while in 1964, 1969, 1973 and 1977 -- each time in April -- tornadoes killed at least 500 people each time. In total, the country has experienced more than 6,500 tornado related deaths in the past 50 years.
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