At least five people were killed and 33 injured in a tornado that struck Guangzhou, a city of 19 million people in southern China, according to Chinese state media.
Authorities say 141 buildings were damaged but no residential homes collapsed, according to Xinhua news agency. A preliminary assessment placed the tornado at level three intensity, two below the highest level.
Guangzhou, about 130 kilometers from Hong Kong, is the capital of Guangdong province.
A weather station in Liangtian Village, Baiyun District, about 2.7 km from where the tornado struck, recorded a maximum wind gust of 20.6 meters per second, Xinhua reported.
As of 10pm (local time), search and rescue operations had ended.
The tornado comes after several days of heavy rain that hit southern China, triggering floods and threatening the lives of millions of people as rescuers race to evacuate residents trapped by floodwaters.
Guangdong province, an economic powerhouse home to 127 million people, saw widespread flooding that forced more than 110,000 people to be relocated, state media reported, citing the local government.
Earlier this week, state media reported that flooding killed at least four people in Guangdong.
Since April 16, torrential rains have hit the Pearl River Delta, China's industrial heartland and one of the country's most populous regions, with four weather stations in Guangdong recording record rainfall in April.
The Pearl River basin is subject to annual flooding from April to September, but the region has faced more intense rain and severe flooding in recent years, as scientists warn the climate crisis will amplify extreme weather, making it deadlier and more frequent.
Although tornadoes don't occur as frequently in China as they do in the US, they do happen. A 2015 scientific paper found that China averages fewer than 100 tornadoes a year, and that at least 1,772 people have died from storms in the country since 1961.
The China Meteorological Agency is warning that heavy rain and storms are likely to continue until the end of the month.
Source: CNN Brasil
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