Early Sunday morning, severe convective weather struck Nanchang, the capital of east China’s Jiangxi Province, resulting in the tragic deaths of four people and injuries to more than ten others, according to local authorities.
Residents awoke to the sound of howling winds and shattering glass as strong winds and heavy rainfall battered the city. Video footage circulating online showed windows broken in residential buildings, with glass shards scattered across floors and streets.
Amid the chaos, three individuals fell to their deaths from a tall building in a residential area on Bayuehu Road in Nanchang County. The circumstances surrounding these fatalities are currently under investigation by the local public security department, with the causes yet to be determined.
The disaster reduction division of the Jiangxi Meteorological Service confirmed that a severe rainstorm swept through the city. At 4 a.m. on Sunday, the Nanchang County meteorological station recorded wind speeds reaching a maximum of 35.5 meters per second (127.8 kilometers per hour), as reported by Meng Minghua, the chief forecaster at the city’s meteorological center.
Meng explained that the destructive winds were the result of a downburst—a powerful downward and outward gust of wind that originates from a point source above and blows radially. “The sudden wind caused by strong convection can rapidly change air pressure, leading to windows bursting due to abrupt pressure differences,” Meng noted. He added that when wind passes through closely spaced buildings, it can accelerate due to the Venturi effect, intensifying its destructive potential.
In response to the extreme weather, the National Meteorological Center renewed a blue alert for torrential rain and a yellow alert for severe convective weather on Tuesday morning. China’s weather warning system is tiered in four colors, with red representing the most severe conditions, followed by orange, yellow, and blue.
Local authorities are urging residents to stay indoors and secure loose objects that could become hazardous in high winds. Communities are coming together to assist those affected, highlighting the resilience and solidarity of the people of Nanchang in the face of natural disasters.
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4 dead, 10 injured after severe thunderstorms in E China's Jiangxi
cgtn.com
