A dramatic video circulating on Twitter has captured the moment panicked passengers scrambled for shelter aboard a Royal Caribbean Cruise ship that was hit by a freak storm. The clip shows deck furniture flying as the ship prepares to leave a Florida port. According to Fox 35, the incident took place on June 16 when a storm hit the port where cruise ship named Independence of the Seas was docked. Royal Caribbean said the ship experienced a "sudden gust of high winds", adding that it "lasted for a brief period and there were no serious injuries to our guests or crew".
One video shows passengers crawling on the deck as chairs fly above them. Another shows passengers running for shelter and grabbing onto the railing.
"People were getting blown away... losing their hats, towels," Lucas Sparrow, who was on ship with his family, told Fox 35.
He added that the cruise line did notify passengers of incoming dangerous weather later in the trip.
Other clips showed umbrellas flying on the ship and screaming passengers sliding across a windswept walkway.
Several million Americans across multiple southern and midwestern states were under severe weather alerts as dangerous storms fuelled by high temperatures battered the region, bringing tornadoes, thunderstorms and hail the size of golf balls around that time.
Tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings were issued for parts of Colorado, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Florida.
Last week, a powerful tornado left at least four people dead and 10 injured in the southern US state of Texas.
The US National Weather Service, confirming the toll, described "significant damage" on the west side of Matador - main city in Motley County in north Texas with a population of about 600 - with several buildings heavily damaged or destroyed.
