Falcon powers – According to local authorities, a violent tornado struck Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong Province in southern China, on Saturday afternoon, resulting in the death of five people and injuring 33 others.
The tornado hit the town of Zhonglutang in the Baiyun District of the city at approximately 3:00 PM local time.
The local weather station in Liangtian Village, about 2.8 kilometers away from the tornado’s point of occurrence, recorded an extreme wind speed of 20.6 meters per second.
An initial investigation conducted by the provincial meteorological bureau concluded that the tornado’s intensity reached level 3, which is two levels below the highest intensity level of 5, and it traveled a distance of approximately one kilometer.
Rescue personnel from the city’s emergency management, weather, fire, water, and health departments, along with local residents, were immediately dispatched to the site.
By 10:00 PM, the search and rescue operations at the site were mostly completed, and the injured were transported to hospitals. The authorities reported that 141 factory buildings were damaged, but no residential houses collapsed.
Meanwhile, the state-run news agency, Xinhua, reported on Sunday that hailstones with a diameter of over 5 centimeters fell in the Guangzhou area.
The agency stated in a statement, “Under the influence of convective clouds, a strong tornado occurred in the Guangzhou area, and large hailstones with a diameter of over 5 centimeters fell.” Videos of the hail and heavy rain, as well as terrifying scenes of the tornado sweeping through the area, circulated on social media.
