A powerful tornado swept through the eastern Chinese city of Suqian, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake, and images shared on social media showed pieces of buildings being lifted into the air, Reuters reported and BBC. At least 10 people died in Jiangsu province, which includes Suqian.

Tuesday’s tornado was brief but violent, with images circulating on social media showing overturned cars, downed power lines and objects literally flying, many of them littering the streets of Suqian, a city in northern Jiangsu province.

“I was at the door and saw the wind, solar energy devices and trees flying in the air,” wrote one user on the popular social media platform Weibo.

“I was stunned for those two minutes.”

CCTV reported that two districts in the province – Suqian and Yancheng – were affected.

Five people were killed and four were seriously injured when the tornado suddenly struck a densely populated area at 5:20 p.m. (21:20 GMT) in Sutsyan, destroying 1,646 houses and destroying hectares of crops.

The tornado then swept through Yancheng, killing five more and injuring four more, CCTV reported.

Weather warnings were also issued on Wednesday for the southwestern region of Chongqing, several districts in Guizhou, Hunan, Anhui and Hubei.