This is the terrifying moment twin waterspouts whirled off an island in the Philippines.

Footage shows the pair of funnels descending side by side from a dark storm cloud, touching down off the seaside town of Dumaran in Palawan province on June 2.

Residents said the sky darkened and thunder cracked as the waterspouts began to form at sea.

Onlooker Kimpoy Villanoche told local media: 'The surroundings darkened, and we heard thunder and saw lightning, until we finally noticed the waterspout tornadoes.'

The twisters were visible for around 30 minutes before disappearing, they said. No boats or homes were damaged.

Two types of tornado form at sea - tornadic waterspouts and fair-weather waterspouts. Tornadic waterspouts form from thunderstorms, just like land tornadoes, while fair-weather waterspouts are typically smaller and less powerful without the need for storms.

Both types of waterspout tornadoes are created when there is a strong difference in air pressure between the surface of the water and the air above it. This difference in pressure creates an updraft, which draws air from the surface of the water into the atmosphere. As the air rises, it cools and condenses, forming a cloud. The cloud can then rotate, forming a waterspout.

It is rare for waterspouts to cause severe damage. However, in August 2023 two tourists were killed and six injured when a waterspout tornado hit their boat on an estuary river in Phetchaburi, southern Thailand.