This is the terrifying moment a dust devil tornado ripped through a market in eastern Thailand.

The whirlwind suddenly materialised in the car park at the Patong Market in Chanthaburi on February 28. It then blew the covers of the stands while whipping up dust and dirt from the ground.

Shocked onlooker Rut Worakit said: ‘The whirlwind lasted about 90 seconds. I could feel it blowing on my skin.’

Dust devils are a type of whirwind tornado that form when the sun heats a patch of land and the air above becomes warmer and rises quickly.

Cooler air then moves into the low-pressure gap left by the rising warm air. The new drafts of cooler air also heat up, rise and the cycle continues, picking up dust and debris making the spiral visible.