Tornado hitting Hong Kong? Experts say it’s not likely to happen and city buildings can handle high winds
- Weather expert says city’s geographical position makes the formation of tornadoes unlikely, although their marine equivalent, waterspouts, are more common
- Engineer adds that city buildings are built to a strict code that makes them able to withstand very high winds
They said the city’s geographical position made tornadoes less likely to form and buildings in Hong Kong were also strong enough to stand up to the high wind speed of most tornadoes.
“The key atmospheric ingredients that lead to tornado potential are warm, moist air near the ground, with cooler, dry air aloft and wind shear,” said Leung Wing-mo, a former assistant director of the Observatory.
“All these factors have to perfectly exist at the same time to promote the development of a tornado.
“As a matter of fact, the most severe tornadoes in China often occur in the plain region in northeastern China.”
Concerns about a possible strike on the city heightened after a suburban area of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province in mainland China, about a 2½-hour drive from Hong Kong, was hit by a tornado on Saturday, killing at least five people and injuring 33 others.
