Objective  To analyze the cause of residents′ deaths and the effect of tropical cyclones on death of the residents in Guangdong province from 2008 to 2011.

  Methods  A generalized additive model was used to analyze the death data for 6 disease surveillance points (DSPs) totally covering a population about 6 millions in Guangdong province and to explore the effect of tropical cyclones on the residents′ deaths. The relative risk (RR) as well as excess mortality were calculated.

  Results  The main causes of death were circulatory system diseases, malignancy, respiratory system diseases, injuries and poisoning, and digestive system diseases among the population from 2008 to 2011. The risk of death increased within 20 days of the occurrence of the tropical cyclones, and the RR was 1.023 (95% confidence interval: 1.004 – 1.043). In different subgroup populations, tropical cyclones increased the mortality risk of the males and the people aged 18 – 59 years old. The excess death was 449 and the excess mortality was 29.4/1 000 000 in the 20 days following the occurrences of 20 tropical cyclones during the period.

  Conclusion  Tropical cyclones could increase the risk of mortality especially in males and the people aged 18 – 59 years. Attention should be paid to health effect of tropical cyclone.