Beijing: Typhoon Son-Tinh lashed China`s southern coast on Monday, leaving one person dead and five others missing while displacing thousands of people.
Son-Tinh, the 23rd typhoon of the year, weakened in force to a strong tropical storm this morning after sweeping across north Vietnam and killing over 20 people in the Philippines.
The Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs said that one person was killed and another five were missing after the typhoon hit the Chinese coast hard today.
The typhoon also forced around 126,000 people to be relocated in south China`s Hainan Province.
Son-Tinh has affected around 1.26 million residents in the province`s 11 county-level regions, the ministry said.
It also destroyed more than 700 houses and damaged more than 2,400 others.
It also affected 41,100 hectares of crops, leading to direct economic losses of about USD 145.73 million, state-run Xinhua said.
The island province of Hainan has experienced gales and high waves since Saturday as the typhoon hit the region.
Local authorities have urged all shipping boats to return to harbour and ferry services into and out of the island have been suspended due to safety concerns.
The typhoon also landed on south China`s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region today bringing rainstorms and strong gales that caused rivers to overflow, leading to the relocation of thousands of residents, local authorities said.
About 127,800 residents in Guangxi have been affected by the typhoon, with a direct economic losses totalling 33.82 million yuan civil authorities of Guangxi said.
Nearly 10,000 residents in several regions in Guangxi have been relocated as a result.
Maritime authorities in Guangxi rescued 26 Vietnamese women and children who were trapped on their boats in the border river of Beilun today.
The rainstorm and ensuing flooding has meant the water level in the river has risen to a height of 8.2 metres, 3.2 metres above the warning level.
Meteorological experts said that heavy rainfall will persist during the next two days.
They added that a typhoon of this magnitude has rarely been seen in Guangxi.
PTI
