Tornado Sweeps Through Campsite for 1 Minute Then Disappears... "Feels Like a Sci-Fi Movie" in Vietnam

Approached the Cameraman and Suddenly Disappeared
"I Didn't Expect It to Appear So Close"

A tornado was clearly captured at a camping site in Dalat, one of Vietnam's major tourist destinations, drawing significant attention. On the 2nd, local Vietnamese media such as 'Dan Tri' reported that a video titled "Strange Phenomenon in Dalat" became a hot topic on social networking services (SNS).

A tornado approaching the video shooter [Image source= SNS capture]

The video is said to have been filmed at a camping site in Dalat. It shows a massive tornado column (waterspout) sucking in sand and dust, stretching up toward the sky. Waterspouts are generally known to occur mainly over the sea, but this tornado was different in that it appeared right in the middle of the camping site.

The video became a sensation, recording 1.7 million views in just one day. Some netizens doubted the authenticity of the tornado’s vividly captured image, commenting "It looks unreal" and "Is this a composite?" However, according to direct reporting by the media, it was confirmed that a waterspout did indeed occur at the camping site at that time.

Witness A said that on the day of the incident, around 8:30 a.m., he visited the weekend camp with his wife and two children. The air was muggy, but the sky was very clear, and there were no unusual signs.

Tornadoes, or waterspouts, mainly occur in areas with unstable atmospheric conditions. A massive tornado that occurred off the coast of Vietnam. [Image source=Haiphong City]

However, just three hours after starting camping, a tornado suddenly appeared in a nearby open field, sucking in sand around it for about one minute. A said, "Small tornadoes had appeared and disappeared several times in this area before, but I never expected one to appear so close. I quickly urged my children to get into the car, and the tornado suddenly vanished as it approached us."

This tornado phenomenon, commonly called a waterspout, occurs when the climate is unstable. It is especially known to frequently form in areas with severe thunderstorms. The convection phenomenon, where hot air rises and cold air flows downward, causes the swirling motion. In Dalat, where the waterspout was observed, hail and heavy rain suddenly fell around 2 p.m. that day and then stopped.