World News for Students of English

29-06-2021 07:00

On Thursday, a rare tornado hit the southeastern Czech Republic. The tornado killed at least three people, and more than a hundred people ended up in hospital.

Several thunderstorms hit the area with winds of more than 219 kmph. Hailstones as big as tennis balls damaged cars, roofs, and windows. Rescuers from all over the country and neighboring Austria and Slovakia continued searching for injured people, and local authorities declared a state of emergency.

Tornadoes are not so rare in Europe, as a few hundred hit the continent every year. They often hit areas where nobody lives, so nobody knows about them.

Difficult words: rare (when something does not happen very often), hailstone (a small ball of ice which falls from the sky like rain), declare a state of emergency (when a government makes special rules to control a situation of danger or disaster).

You can watch the original video in the Level 3 section.