China Typhoon : 18 Killed
Death toll from super typhoon Rammasun rises to 18 in China
Strongest typhoon to hit southern China in 41 years leaves death and destruction in its wake as it heads towards Vietnam
The death toll from super typhoon Rammasun has increased to 18 on Sunday as one more person was confirmed dead in the island province of Hainan.
Rammasun, the strongest typhoon to hit south China in four decades, brought gales and downpours to a number of southern provinces. At least two people are missing, according to local civil affairs authorities.
Typhoon Rammasun China
The latest statistics showed that more than 5.57 million people were affected by Rammasun as it swept dozens of southern coastal cities in Guangdong and Hainan provinces, and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Eight people, including two government officials who were in a rescue operation, were confirmed dead in Hainan, while nine others are from Guangxi.
The typhoon seriously damaged power and water supplies, telecommunications networks, ports and roads, making rescue work more difficult.
Hainan, where Rammasun made its first landfall on Friday afternoon, suffered the worst damage.
The typhoon destroyed about 51,000 houses and 40,600 hectares of crops, causing economic losses of over 10.8 billion yuan (1.74 billion U.S. dollars), the provincial civil affairs authorities said.
More than 1.13 million households were cut off electricity.
The provincial government has allocated 100 million yuan (16.1 million yuan) to help the worst-hit areas.
As Rammasun moved out of Hainan, all the airports in the island had reopened by Sunday morning. Ferry, rail and bus services have also resumed.
Guangxi, which is still under the spell of the typhoon, has reported a direct economic loss of 1.63 billion yuan (261.63 million U.S. dollars) so far.
Rammasun is expected to continue moving northwest at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour, bringing heavy rainfalls to the west of Hainan and Yunnan Province, according to meteorological authorities.
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