Terrifying tornado caught on video in Australia as it tears through houses 'like a bomb going off'

• Homes destroyed across north-eastern Victoria as two tornadoes hit at around 8pm
  
• Caravans, trees and cars tossed in the air as the storm devastated area, critically injuring two and injuring around 20 more
• Storm affected towns in a 100km line from Cobram to Rutherglen
  

By Harriet Arkell

Published: 09:12 EDT, 22 March 2013 | Updated: 12:33 EDT, 22 March 2013

A young man has told how he drove for his life after coming face to face with the huge tornado that devastated towns and villages along a 100km stretch of Victoria, Australia yesterday.

The tornado struck just before 8pm AEDT and tore across north-eastern Victoria, leaving houses, businesses and vehicles destroyed and injuring more than 20 people, two of them critically.

Daniel Clarke, 24, was driving along a country road from Mulwala to Barooga with a friend when they saw the sky go black and realised they were driving into the heart of a twister.

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The scale of the tornadoes can be seen in this grab from the footage filmed from Mr Clarke's car

Daniel Clarke had to reverse at top speed when he realised his car was driving into the tornado's path

With no time to turn the car around, Mr Clarke simply put the car into reverse and put his foot down, while his friend filmed the tornado on their tail.

Mr Clark, whose terrifying footage can be seen below, said: 'I've never seen the devastation of Mother Nature like that before.'

He and his friend, who eventually escaped being swept up by the twister, estimated that the tornado was at least 50m wide at its base.

Witnesses who reported seeing two tornadoes tearing through the north-eastern part of state described houses being 'blown apart' by the force of the storm that struck at about 8pm AEDT on Thursday.

The mayor of Moira Shire, which was hit by the tornadoes, described the scene as looking as if a bomb had gone off.

Brian Keenan told The Australian: 'It was incredible, you would think an atom bomb went off.  How there wasn't lives lost is beyond me.'

A caravan park that lay in the path of the tornadoes was devastated by its force, with many homes obliterated

Amateur footage shows the sky going black as the storm approaches, destroying everything in its path

The tornadoes touched down in a 100-kilometre line stretching from Cobram to Rutherglen just after 7pm (AEDT) yesterday.

Murray River towns including Bundalong, Yarrawonga, Mulwala, Rutherglen, Koonoomoo and Cobram were all hit by the storm.

Buildings in the historic town of Rutherglen were severely damaged, with awnings ripped off and windows smashed.

Caravans, cars and trees whirled through the air as the storm raced across the countryside near the border with New South Wales, and there were reports that several homes at Bundalong were destroyed.

This image was filmed on a mobile phone as Daniel Clarke drove away from the tornado

ATwo men said to be in their 50s were flown to hospitals in Melbourne for treatment for injuries sustained in the storm - today authorities said they were in a critical condition.

Around 20 people were thought to be injured in the storm that witnesses said was over in five minutes as it passed over the landscape.

A receptionist at Sun Country Holiday Village at Mulwala said most caravans at the park had been damaged and at least two had been picked up and blown away.

Sixty-foot trees were uprooted by the winds, damaged buildings and vehicles as they fell

Residents said the storm passed over them in as little as five minutes but left an unimaginable scene of devastation

One man said his back verandah was ripped off and carried over the street.

He added: 'A couple of houses down the road ... were literally blown apart by the force of the wind.'

And another witness described the scene left in the storm's wake as looking like 'a lawnmower has gone across the tops of trees - trees 50ft high.'

Trees were uprooted and debris flew through the air as the tornadoes whipped through north-eastern Victoria

Buildings were destroyed like children's toys as the storm tore across the Australian countryside

Fish and chip shop worker Dawn Leahy said: 'It was like a bomb went off.

'I was holding onto the front door of my shop watching things flying past.'

Many are still without power as a result of the storm, which meteorologists believe may have involved more than one tornado because the path that it took was not straight.

Senior forecaster for the Bureau of Meteorology, Terry Ryan, told The Age that it was initially assessed as between F1 and F2 on the Fujita scale for tornado strength, meaning they had wind speeds between 117 and 253km per hour.

This home was at least left standing after the tornadoes had passed - although the trees, and other houses nearby - weren't so lucky

VIDEO: WATCH THE TERRIFYING STORM RIP THROUGH THE VICTORIA COUNTRYSIDE