Typhoon claims two lives in eastern China; 17 missing
Beijing - Two people have died and 17 others are missing after Typhoon Nepartak tore through eastern China, the official Xinhua newsagency reported on Sunday.
Over 400,000 residents in nine cities have been given temporary accommodation and the typhoon destroyed over 1,100 houses, the report said, citing a statement issued by the flood control office in Fujian Province.
The provincial capital Fuzhou was one of the cities struck by the extreme weather.
The death toll could rise with heavy rain forecast to continue in the region.
The deadly storm had battered Taiwan on Friday and Saturday, killing at least three people and injuring dozens.
Fields, villages and urban areas in eastern Chinese provinces were flooded in the storms, and power supplies were cut in some remote areas, Xinhua reported.
An estimated 49,000 hectares of crops were damaged in the storm, of which 4,500 hectares were completely destroyed.
The country's meteorological agency reported sustained winds of more than 100 kilometres per hour. Five airports were closed and nearly 400 flights were cancelled, the report said.
After the storm weakened, authorities in the port city of Xiamen announced that ferry traffic to Taiwan would resume Sunday.
A summer of heavy downpours, landslides and deadly storms has claimed more than 160 lives in China since June 30, according to local authorities.
- DPA
