HOTAN, XINJIANG, CHINA — On June 28th, residents stood witness to a monstrous sandstorm. <br /><br />Footage posted to Weibo shows cars being brought to a halt as the instantaneous wind force reached level 9, carrying with it monstrous plumes of dust that blocked out the sun, making the roads too hazardous to drive. <br /><br />In other clips, we can see a heavy haze looming over buildings and a giant wall of sand moving towards it.<br /><br />Local residents said that this was the harshest sandstorm they have seen in quite some time.<br /><br />According to a report by BTV, Hotan Airport canceled a total of 5 flights, and delayed 9, affecting nearly 1,000 passengers. As an ancient oasis town, the area has always dealt with sandstorms because of its close proximity to the Taklimakan Desert, however, in recent years deforestation has made the area more sustainable to these extreme weather events. <br /><br /><br />TomoNews is your best source for real news. We cover the funniest, craziest and most talked-about stories on the internet. If you're laughing, we're laughing. If you're outraged, we're outraged. We tell it like it is. And because we can animate stories, TomoNews brings you news like you've never seen before.<br /><br />Top TomoNews Stories - The most popular videos on TomoNews!<br />http://bit.ly/Top_TomoNews_Stories<br /><br />You Idiot! - People doing stupid things<br />http://bit.ly/You-Idiot<br /><br />Recent Uploads - The latest stories brought to you by TomoNews<br />http://bit.ly/Latest-TomoNews<br /><br />Ultimate TomoNews Compilations - Can't get enough of TomoNews? This playlist is for you! New videos every day<br />http://bit.ly/Ulitmate_TomoNews_Compi...<br /><br />Thanks for watching TomoNews!<br />Like TomoNews on Facebook ►► http://www.facebook.com/TomoNewsUS<br />Follow us on Twitter ►► @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS<br />Follow us on Instagram ►► @tomonewsus http://instagram.com/tomonewsus<br />Subscribe to TomoNews ►► http://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-TomoNews<br />Watch more TomoNews ►► http://bit.ly/MoreTomoNews <br /><br />Visit our website for all the latest videos: http://us.tomonews.com<br />Check out our Android app: http://bit.ly/1rddhCj<br />Check out our iOS app: http://bit.ly/1gO3z1f<br /><br />Get top stories delivered to your inbox every day: http://bit.ly/tomo-newsletter
