China's official Xinhua news agency said that the tornado hit the Guangdong Province capital, in the country's south, around 3 pm (0700 GMT).

The extreme weather was the latest to hit the country's industrial heartland. Guangdong, China's most populous province, is home to 127 million people and thousands of factories that power the nation's export sector.

Some 141 factories were damaged, though no houses had collapsed, Xinhua reported.

Images published by state media showed dark skies in the middle of the day.

Social media images showed damaged cars and uprooted trees.

Earlier this week, torrential rains in Guangdong caused serious flooding, leaving four dead.

According to state media, it was the worst flooding some parts of the province had seen since the 1950s.

Tornados are not unusual in China.

In September, 10 people were killed after a tornado struck Suqian, Jiangsu Province, in the country's east.

In 2021, two tornadoes struck the country in one day, killing 12, including eight in Wuhan.