A huge water tornado was filmed spinning towards a city's high-rise buildings - forcing people to run for their lives from from the beach.

This incredible footage shot shows George Town, in Penang, Malaysia, where almost 200,000 people live.

The enormous waterspout is seen moving towards the high-rise buildings of the Tanjung Tokong suburb.

The clip shows the massive columnar vortex moving towards a beach.

Local media reports that at least 50 houses in the area were badly damaged, but the water dispersed just five minutes after reaching land.