[imagesource: YouTube / SCMP Clips]
China has been dealing with one of its more devastating rainy seasons, with two vicious tornadoes tearing through the south in a matter of days.
Chinese authorities had to issue warnings of “extreme weather events” as early as April, ahead of the season that is supposed to signal the transition from spring to summer in June.
Historically, China is prone to natural disasters like floods and landslides, which swamp the farmlands, but lately the country’s weather system has become more vulnerable.
This is thanks to constant interference with the natural order of things, such as deforestation, as well as the reclamation of wetlands and the storage of water for power generation and irrigation, per Moneycontrol with input from Reuters.
On June 16, the first tornado hit, leaving millions of people with nowhere to go after decimating property and flooding farmlands in the southern megacity of Guangzhou:
Another close range footage of the Guangzhou tornado, as far as we know, this tornado hit overhead, commercial buildings and did major damage to transmission of the subways. pic.twitter.com/g5yRNnox9P
— Eric Wang (@Ericwang1101) June 16, 2022
Then, on Sunday, as if the country had entered a Harry Potter-esque world in which wizards and dementors rip the city up in shreds over a battle between good and evil, a second tornado hit:
This one was also in China’s south, in the city of Foshan:
During the one minute that the tornado was active, it caused power outages, uprooted trees and damaged houses and vehicles, reported South China Morning Post.
…In some of the videos, sparks were seen flying along with sudden flares as the twister tore through power lines. Buildings, cars and local infrastructure faced severe damage from the sudden weather event.
See that again:
Another close vid shot from a nearby high rise shows how the Foshan tornado formed and hit a local factory this morning. pic.twitter.com/iQQ506bHhU
— Eric Wang (@Ericwang1101) June 19, 2022
Another video shows the twister ripping things up from another vantage point:
A tornado touched down in Foshan, Guangdong province about 1 hour ago. pic.twitter.com/PrEjaqCJuP
— CyanideCN (@CyanideCN_) June 19, 2022
Miraculously, there have been no casualties.
[source:moneycontrol]
