A tornado that swept through the economic hub of Guangzhou in southern China on Saturday killed five people and damaged numerous factory buildings.
The tornado struck around 3 p.m. and injured 33 other people as it hit the city’s northern suburb of Baiyun, the local government said. This lasted about four minutes. Hailstones, some about 2 inches in diameter, also fell on parts of the city.
Videos shared by Chinese state media showed transmission towers and power lines. to light up and debris swirling in the air, against the backdrop of a giant funnel that had darkened the sky by mid-afternoon.
Guangzhou, a sprawling city of 19 million people and a manufacturing and technology hub, was hit this month by heavy spring downpours. Flood in Guangdong province, of which Guangzhou is the capital, had already led to the evacuation of tens of thousands of people last week.
The flow of warm and humid air from the South China Sea has led to the accumulation of a “large amount of unstable energy” near the ground, according to the Guangzhou government.
Authorities said a total of 141 factory buildings were damaged by the tornado and recent rains. Wind speeds had reached a maximum of about 46 miles per hour.
Search and rescue operations were completed on Saturday evening, state media said. But authorities warned that torrential rain, strong winds and lightning were likely to continue in Guangzhou in the coming days, as China prepares to celebrate Labor Day for five days starting on Wednesday.
A video shared by the Guangzhou government reminded residents not to go outside in heavy hail, or if they had to, to wear helmets.
The brown waters of the Pearl River flow through the heart of Guangzhou, much of which is very low lying and has a long history of flooding.
The city has made considerable efforts in recent decades to improve its resilience to flooding that has long accompanied the annual arrival of heavy rains in late spring.
In recent years, municipal regulations require that new apartment buildings have businesses, not apartments, on the ground floor. The aim is to minimize the risks to human life during flooding.
Janet Yellen, the US Treasury Secretary, visited Guangzhou during an official visit to China earlier this month. The city recently held the Canton Fair, a major trade exhibition.
Keith Bradsher contributed to the reports, and Amy Chang Chien contributed research
