Deadly tornado claims five lives and injures 33 in a Chinese metropolis amid intense flood battles.
Reports come in of 141 factories being damaged due to a tornado in Guangzhou, a city in Guangdong province and only 80 miles away from Hong Kong. Thankfully, no residential houses were brought down by the tornado. According to the Xinhua news agency, the tornado was at a level-three intensity, which is two levels below the maximum of five.
Notably, a weather station in Liangtian Village, Baiyun District, located just about 1.7 miles from where the tornado made landfall, recorded a wind gust of 20.6 meters per second.
All search and rescue operations had ended by 10 pm local time.
Heavy rains have been plaguing southern China for several days now, leading to devastating floods and putting millions of lives in peril. The Guangdong province, home to 127 million people and a major economic hub, is already experiencing severe flooding, forcing over 110,000 individuals to seek relocation.
The Guangdong province has seen more than four unfortunate deaths due to these floods, as per state media.
Since April 16, the Pearl River Delta area, the country's manufacturing hub and a densely-populated region, has been mercilessly hit by heavy rains. Four weather stations in Guangdong have broken records with their high rainfall levels for April.
Annual flooding is typical in the Pearl River basin, as it occurs between April and September. However, scientists are expressing their concerns regarding the increasing frequency and intense nature of rainstorms and floods, hinting at the potential worsening effects of climate change on extreme weather patterns.
Though tornadoes are not as common in China as they are in the US, they do happen occasionally. A scientific article published in 2015 noted that China sees an average of 100 tornadoes a year, with 1,772 people losing their lives to tornadoes since 1961.
The China Meteorological Agency warns that more heavy rain and strong storms are expected to continue until the end of the month.
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Source: edition.cnn.com
