Floods in China: Aerial photos released Sunday by Chinese state media showed widespread destruction in parts of the southern city of Guangzhou after a tornado ripped through the city the previous day, killing five people, injuring dozens of others and damaging more than 140 buildings.
As businesses and residents began to tidy up the debris, photos showed block after block of destruction in the hardest-hit areas, with several clusters of buildings standing amid the destruction, a truck turned on its side and cars crushed by the rubble. Tin roofs were torn off some buildings.
VIDEO: Tornado hits southern China’s Guangzhou city, killing five people
On Saturday, a tornado injured 33 people and knocked out power in the area. According to authorities, the tornado, which passed during an afternoon storm that also brought hail, damaged 141 factory buildings. Guangzhou is the capital of Guangdong Province and a manufacturing center near Hong Kong.
They said no homes were damaged, although the Southern Media Group news site reported that some homes had windows broken.
Rain continues to hit Guangzhou province
The tornado hit several villages in Guangzhou’s Baiyun District. In one, packaging material known as “pearl cotton” hung from buildings and trees, according to a report on the Southern Media website. According to the news portal, it blew onto the premises of a nearby furniture company, where employees took shelter in a private house after the metal roof was torn off their building. On Sunday, workers were rolling up material that was to be taken away for disposal.
The disaster occurred a week after weighty rains and floods killed at least four people in Guangdong province. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visited Guangzhou during an official visit to China earlier this month. The city, formerly known as Canton, recently hosted the Canton Fair, an critical export and import exhibition that attracts buyers from all over the world.
In September, two tornadoes killed 10 people in eastern China’s Jiangsu province.
(With the participation of the agency)
Read also: Rain in China continues to wreak havoc, massive flood lifts cars in Guangdong AND VIDEO
