Terrifying footage emerges from raging storm in Moscow
Moscow was battered by a deadly barrage of severe thunderstorms on Monday, and plenty of scary moments were caught on video.
The compilation below, from Russian journalist Artur Petrosyan, shows the cover of a tennis court in Zhulebino district being blown off, as well as a giant crane spinning around due to high winds.
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At least 11 people have died in the storm, with dozens reported injured across the Moscow metropolitan area. According to the BBC, if that death toll is confirmed, it would be the city's deadliest storm in a century.
"Winds gusted as high as 70 mph during the storm, which is rare for Moscow," meteorologist Brian Donegan said on weather.com. "Some hail was also reported along with torrential rain."
The wind speeds and geographic scope of the storm -- Moscow is a sprawling city home to 12 million -- points to straight-line winds as a likely culprit for much of the damage.
If the damaging winds spread out across a large enough area and were especially persistent over time, they could be considered a derecho, which refers to a long-lasting damaging wind event associated with severe thunderstorms.
In 2012, a derecho (pronounced "de-REY-cho") roared across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states, knocking out power to millions.
The storms in Moscow on Monday caused extensive power outages, disrupted train service, and destroyed around 3,500 trees, according to the AP. Most of the deaths were reportedly from falling trees.
In Stavropol, south of Moscow, 60,000 people are reportedly being evacuated due to the threat of flooding.
Mashable Science Editor Andrew Freedman contributed reporting.
Keith Wagstaff is an assistant editor at Mashable and a terrible Settlers of Catan player. He has written for TIME, The Wall Street Journal Magazine, NBC News, The Village Voice, VICE, GQ and New York Magazine, among many other reputable and not-so-reputable publications. After nearly a decade in New York City, he now lives in his native Los Angeles.
