This is the astonishing moment a landspout tornado whipped up piles of sand as it spread through a construction site on July 16.<br /><br />The powerful gust of swirling wind hit the patch of land while trucks were carrying equipment in Battambang, Cambodia.<br /><br />Footage shows how the tornado flung two large pieces of blue tarpaulin into the air as shocked workers looked on. <br /><br />The landspout - caused by rapidly rising warm air - quickly dissipated and the dust settled, with the staff having to clear away the mess caused.<br /><br />One builder said: ''I was too confused to worry about what was happening. I was thinking to myself 'where has that thing come from?'. Then it was over quite quickly.''<br /><br />Landspouts form when warm air rapidly rises but cools slower than the surrounding dry air. This leads to instability in the air and updrafts.<br /><br />Shifting winds near the ground's surface then mix with the rising clouds to form a swirling vortex, giving rise to the narrow tornado-like shape cloud.
