Floods triggered by torrential rain have killed 17 people and six others are missing in southern China, Xinhua news agency reported today.
Storms have pounded China's southern Guangxi autonomous region since last week when Typhoon Hagupit slammed into the country's southern coast, disrupting the lives of 6.5 million people and forcing 678,000 people to evacuate, Xinhua quoted local officials as saying.
The latest storm, Typhoon Jangmi, was downgraded today and was not expected to make landfall but is expected to bring strong winds and heavy rains to China's eastern coast, the news agency said.
Jangmi, which was once the season's strongest storm, slammed into Taiwan on Sunday, killing two people, injuring 58 and forcing the closure of schools, offices and financial markets before moving toward the Chinese mainland.
The rains in southern China have damaged 86,000 houses and inundated 437,000 hectares of cropland, resulting in direct economic losses of around $529 million, Xinhua said.
Authorities in Fujian and the Zhejiang provinces, close to Shanghai, have evacuated more than 500,000 people and called some 80,000 boats back into harbour.
Heavy rains and strong winds in the two provinces and Shanghai will persist until Tuesday, said Xinhua.
Typhoons regularly hit China, Taiwan, the Philippines and Japan from August until the end of the year, gathering strength from the warm waters of the Pacific and the South China Sea before weakening over land.
Reuters