This is the moment a tornado damaged dozens of homes in Indonesia.

Footage shows a whirlwind forming while dark clouds loomed overhead in South Sulawesi on February 7.

A resident rushed inside the house, banged the door, and watched as the winds peeled off panels from his neighbour's roof.

There was a total of 42 damaged houses in Dadeko and Bone Pute Village when it happened in the afternoon.

South Larompong District head Herman Alias said: 'The severe damage was in Dadeko Village. Our data shows that 42 houses were damaged, one of which was very serious and was no longer livable.'

Herman said the twister, which lasted for ten minutes before it dissipated.

He added: 'Some parts of the villages experienced power outages and interrupted communication networks.'

A tornado is a violent rotating column of air that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground. It can cause significant damage to anything in its path.

It is created when warm, moist air collides with cold, dry air, causing instability in the atmosphere, leading to rotating air currents.