Hundreds of people in Birmingham were coming to terms with the devastation caused by a terrifying mini-tornado that hit the British city today.
Twenty people were injured when the freak twister stripped houses of their roofs, uprooted hundreds of trees and knocked down walls.
The tornado, which lasted no more than a minute wherever it struck, left a one-kilometre trail of destruction through south Birmingham.
Witnesses saw the winds lift cars and turn street signs and masonry into missiles when they hit the city at about 2.45pm today.
The Sparkbrook, Balsall Heath, Moseley and Kings Heath areas were worst hit, and West Midlands Ambulance Service confirmed that it had treated 20 patients, including three with serious injuries.
West Midlands Fire Service declared a "major incident" after deploying 15 appliances to a one square kilometre area where hundreds of buildings were damaged - many losing their entire roofs.
A section of the city's "Balti Belt" - which centres on Ladypool Road, Sparkbrook - was left resembling a war zone - with fruit, glass, masonry, tyres and furniture littering the streets.
Eyewitness Brian Cassidy saw the rain slanting sideways and said he joked with a friend: "In America you got a hurricane after this."
Mr Cassidy, who was walking to a shop on Ladypool Road, said he then noticed the wind picking up and jumped into his friend's car and watched as the tornado passed over.
The 30-year-old carpenter, from Balsall Heath, said: "It hit a roof and just lifted it off.