Tornado kills 5 in flood-hit southern Chinese city of Guangzhou
An aerial view taken on Apr 28, 2024 shows destroyed and damaged buildings in an affected area after a tornado hit Guangzhou, in Southern China's Guangdong province. (Photo: AFP/CNS)
A strong tornado hit China’s southern mega city of Guangzhou on Saturday (Apr 27) afternoon, killing five people and injuring 33, as severe rain and a hailstorm battered the Guangdong provincial capital.
Authorities said the tornado was of level-three intensity, two tiers lower than the highest level of five. An investigation into the damage caused was underway, state news agency Xinhua reported.
In all, 141 factory buildings were damaged, authorities said.
The weather station in Liangtian village in Guangzhou’s Baiyun district, roughly 2.8km from the tornado’s “point of occurrence”, registered a maximum wind gust of 20.6m per second at around 3pm, Xinhua said.
It comes as Guangdong battles record-breaking floods caused by heavy downpours that have left at least four dead and displaced tens of thousands across several cities. At least 10 people have also been reported missing.
Earlier in the day, city authorities issued thunderstorm, rainstorm, hailstorm and tornado warnings in many districts.
Hailstones the size of eggs damaged cars and windows in several parts of the Guangzhou districts of Zengcheng and Panyu.
“The tornado and hailstorms were terrible. I told my parents to stay indoors even though most of their vegetable crops were damaged,” said Qiu Ruifa, a Guangzhou resident whose parents live in a rural area in Conghua district.
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The weather forced a slew of flight cancellations at Guangzhou’s airport, one of the country’s busiest.
Stranded passengers posted photos and footage of water pouring into the facility from cracks in the roof, causing severe flooding.
More rain is forecast for the province over the next five days, with a high risk of heavy downpours, hail and tornadoes.
Guangzhou authorities announced on Saturday that the city’s total rainfall for the month had already reached 455.8mm, the highest for April since 1951.
Retired teacher Zhu Yinghua said the water was making its way inside buildings.
“Days of heavy rains have caused rainwater to penetrate from the building’s exterior walls to the walls of the bedrooms,” Zhu said.
The downpours have also added uncertainties to the ongoing Canton Fair, the country’s biggest trade exhibition.
The fair, a barometer of China’s exports, was crowded with foreign buyers during its first of three phases between Apr 15 and Apr 20 but the flow seemed to have slowed in recent days due to the weather, exporters said.
Various parts of the country have been hit by deadly extreme weather in recent years. The eastern province of Jiangxi was battered by intense winds and cloudbursts in March, killing three people. And in September, two tornadoes in the eastern province of Jiangsu killed 10 people.
This article was first published on SCMP.
