Tornado damages hundreds of houses in Indonesia

A tornado swept through two regencies in the Indonesian province of West Java on Wednesday afternoon, leveling houses and factories in the area, reported Xinhua.

West Java disaster mitigation agency told local media on Thursday that powerful winds had damaged 13 factories and 10 houses in Sumedang regency, and 18 factories and 233 houses in Bandung regency.

The agency's spokesman Hadi Rahmat said that the disaster had impacted over 800 families in these regencies with more than 30 people suffering injuries.

"The victims were already receiving treatments in a number of health service facilities," he said, adding that authorities had set up temporary shelters for the evacuees.

The tornado, which took place at around 4:00 p.m. local time (0900 GMT), had also caused blackouts in some parts of the area with trucks reportedly flipped over by the strong wind.

Rahmat said the agency was handling the situation by coordinating with local authorities, village leaders and humanitarian volunteers to collect data on the impact of the tornado.