Tourists run for their lives as ferocious waterspout makes landfall on Ayia Napa beach

This is the terrifying moment tourists ran for their lives as a ferocious waterspout wreaked havoc along the coastline of a popular tourist hotspot sending beach furniture and other debris flying into the air.

Footage shows the initial stages of the twister in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, on Monday as it formed a long, thin column above the water.

It quickly gained momentum and developed into a larger tornado-style twister and, as its speed intensified, it became wider and faster.

Eventually, it makes its way towards the beach sending beach furniture into the air and combining the water with sand as tourists fled the area.

This is the terrifying moment tourists ran for their lives as a ferocious waterspout wreaked havoc along the coastline of a popular tourist hotspot sending beach furniture and other debris flying into the air

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Footage shows the initial stages of the twister in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, on Monday as it formed a long, thin column above the water

It quickly gained momentum and developed into a larger tornado-style twister and, as its speed intensified, it became wider and faster 

Local police say no major damage was done, besides moving a number of sunbeds on the beach.

Government data suggest around 1,000,000 UK tourists travel to Cyprus each year with Ayia Napa being one of the most popular destinations.

Waterspouts develop over masses of water, scooping up vapour and dragging it towards the sky.

The slender ‘tornados’ are occasionally found in the late summer and autumn and can be dangerous for boaters and shoreline locations but are no threat farther inland since they collapse soon after they move onshore.

Eventually, it makes its way towards the beach sending beach furniture into the air and combining the water with sand as tourists fled the area

Local police say no major damage was done, besides moving a number of sunbeds on the beach

A waterspout is a whirling column of air and water mist which forms when cumulus clouds grow rapidly

However, the whirling columns of air and water mist can sometimes cause as much damage as a tornado.

They fall into two categories – fair weather waterspouts and tornadic waterspouts.

Tornadic waterspouts are associated with severe thunderstorms and are often accompanied by high winds and seas, large hail, and frequent dangerous lightning.

Meanwhile, fair weather waterspouts usually form along the dark flat base of a line of developing clouds. By the time the funnel is visible, a fair weather waterspout is near maturity.

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They can rise hundreds of feet into the air and have been referred to as tornados on water

Government data suggest around 1,000,000 UK tourists travel to Cyprus each year with Ayia Napa being one of the most popular destinations