Tornado hits Turkish resort town

A man walks among the debris after a small tornado has struck Cesme, a town on Turkey’s Aegean coast, leaving a path of destruction and injuring sixteen people, Friday, Feb. 12, 2021, officials and reports said Friday. The tornado touched down late on Thursday in the resort town of Cesme, some 90 kilometers (56 miles) west of the city of Izmir, where it uprooted trees, blew off roof tiles, swept up cars and knocked down a crane. (IHA via AP)

A small tornado has struck a town on Turkey’s Aegean coast, leaving a path of destruction and injuring 16 people, reports said.

The tornado touched down late on Thursday in the resort town of Cesme, some 90 kilometres (56 miles) west of the city of Izmir.

It uprooted trees, blew off roof tiles, swept up cars and knocked down a crane.

At least four boats capsized.

People walk among the debris in Cesme (IHA/AP)

The worst-hit area was a construction site for summer villas where the crane was toppled and a container housing the construction workers overturned.

Sixteen workers were hurt, including one who was taken to hospital with a broken leg, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

“Cesme, a paradise on earth, experienced hell last night,” Anadolu quoted the town’s mayor, Ekrem Oran, as saying.

Powerful winds and hail also caused damage in the nearby town of Urla, destroying hundreds of commercial greenhouses.