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Rare waterspout makes landfall in Penang, damaging at least 50 buildings, Malaysia

penang-malaysia-waterspout-damage-april-1-2019

Image credit: Waterspout makes landfall in Penang, Malaysia on April 1, 2019

A very large waterspout formed near the coast of Tanjung Tokong, Penang, Malaysia on April 1, 2019, and made landfall after about 5 minutes, severely damaging at least 50 buildings.

The twister touched down around 13:36 LT, ripping off roofs and downing trees but there were no reports of injuries, the Penang Civil Defence Force spokesman said.

The Washington Post reported that the spout in Malaysia is 'unique' given the fact that it spun clockwise – opposite to the orientation of more than 98% of supercell tornadoes in the northern hemisphere.

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