Images show devastation caused by tornado in China

Several people remove fallen trees after a tornado in Chendong village of Zhongluotan town of Baiyun district, Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China, 28 April 2024 Credit: EFE/EPA/XINHUA
Aerial drone photo shows damage caused by a tornado in Guangming Village of Zhongluotan Town of Baiyun District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China, 28 April 2024 Credit: EFE/EPA/XINHUA
Several people remove fallen trees after a tornado in Chendong village of Zhongluotan town of Baiyun district, Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China, 28 April 2024 Credit: EFE/EPA/XINHUA
Image provided by Chinese news agency April 2024 Credit: Deng Hua/Xinhua via AP
A damaged building in Guangming Village of Zhongluotan Town of Baiyun District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China, Sunday, April 28, 2024 Credit: EFE/EPA/XINHUA
Aerial drone photo shows damage caused by a tornado in Guangming Village of Zhongluotan Town of Baiyun District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China, April 28, 2024. Credit: EFE/EPA/XINHUA

BEIJING, China. — This Sunday, Chinese state media released aerial images of the extensive devastation in part of the city of Guangzhou, caused by the passage of a tornado that hit the area the day before. Five people died, dozens were injured and a hundred buildings were damaged.

Images showed devastated blocks in the worst affected areas and small groups of buildings standing amid the destruction, with a truck flipped on its side and cars crushed by debris. Some buildings had lost their metal roofs.

Authorities reported that at least 33 people were injured by the tornado.

Guangzhou is the capital of Guangdong province and a manufacturing hub near Hong Kong. The tornado occurred during an afternoon thunderstorm with hail that also caused damage to 141 factory buildings, according to authorities.

No homes were destroyed, they said, although a Southern Media Group news website reported broken windows in several homes.

The tornado hit several towns in Guangzhou’s Baiyun district. In one of them, remains of construction materials were seen hanging from trees and buildings, according to the Southern Media site. The storm hit the complex of a furniture factory, where workers took shelter in a private home when the storm tore the metal roof off their building, according to the website.

Workers were packing materials that were going to be discarded on Sunday.

The disaster occurred a week after downpours and floods killed at least four people in Guangdong province.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visited Guangzhou during an official visit to China this month. The city, formerly known as Guangzhou, also recently hosted the Canton Fair, a major export and import show that attracts buyers from all over the world.

Two tornadoes killed 10 people in eastern China’s Jiangsu province in September.

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