Incredible photos from China seem to show a variety of sea creatures being swept through the streets by a violent storm.
The images, taken in the coastal city of Qingdao in eastern China’s Shandong Province, went viral on social media after a ferocious tempest blew through the town on Wednesday.
Phenomena of this sort are not unprecedented, however, as examples of what scientists call the ‘Rain of animals’ exist throughout history.
In the pictures, an octopus and a starfish can be seen having stuck themselves to car windscreens having been tossed about in the gales.
Images taken in Qingdao, China seem to show an octopus which attached itself to a windscreen
Other marine life to be swept ashore by the tempest included a starfish which stuck itself to another car
The incredible images also show a shellfish (left) and a mollusk (right) which were brought ashore
‘Seafood rain’ became a trending topic on social media after images were shared widely online.
According to the city’s meteorological service, the hurricane-force wind speeds generated during the storm set a new all-time record for June.
The hellish winds, which were accompanied by hail, caused widespread destruction throughout the city – which was also caught on camera.
The Chinese Meteorological Administration, China’s national weather agency, confirmed there had been a number of sea creatures blown ashore by the storm.
And the Qingdao Meteorological Administration, the city’s regional weather forecasters, re-posted the images online.
The local forecasters refused to confirm whether the photos were real, however, after a number of fake images were circulated online in the wake of the storm appearing to show robots and monsters posing next to the damage.
A weather radar from Wednesday this week shows huge storm systems over Qingdao, Shandong
The coastal city took a battering as hurricane-force winds tore down signs and structures
The powerful storm also uprooted several of the city’s trees – causing travel chaos throughout the town
It is believed the creatures were brought inland by waterspouts which sucked them out of the Yellow Sea.
According to meteorologists, it is not uncommon for tornadoes to transport marine life hundreds of miles from their habitats.
Back in 2010 hundreds of spangled perch fish bombarded the 650 residents of Lajamanu after being sucked inland by a waterspout.
Meterologists said the incident was probably caused by a tornado as it is common for tornados to suck up water and fish from rivers and drop them miles away.