Southern city works to recover after tornado

The government of Taiping township in the Conghua district of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, which had been struck by a tornado on Thursday night, was busy on Friday morning organizing key departments in response.

It mobilized providers of electricity, public safety, and fire control, along with neighborhood committees, to restore power, remove road obstacles and divert traffic to restore local production and social order.

The township, located in the northern part of the city, was in chaos after a tornado suddenly swept through, local authorities said. Many trees were uprooted and temporary scaffolding and billboards collapsed, leading to a heavy traffic jam in the township, and power failures were reported in some areas.

The township's industrial development zone, Taiping village and Yanjiangxi Road were hit hardest, the authorities said.

No deaths and injures have been reported so far.

According to the Conghua district meteorological bureau, the tornado struck at 7:20 pm on Thursday and lasted more than three minutes.

Before the tornado, meteorologists had issued a yellow alert — the second-highest level in the four-tier warning system — for heavy weather and possible geological hazards.

Rainstorms will not taper off in the southern metropolis until next week, local meteorologists warned.