At least 49 people were killed and many reported missing due to typhoon Lekima in China, according to authorities on Tuesday.
“The death toll in Zhejiang province rose to 39 while nine others remained missing”, Xinhua news agency quoted the provincial flood control headquarters as saying.
The ninth and strongest typhoon of the year has affected 6.68 million residents in Zhejiang, among whom 1.26 million were evacuated.
Lekima landed in the city of Wenling, Zhejiang on August 10. It made a second landing the next day on the coast of Qingdao in Shandong province.
Heavy rains and strong gales have damaged 175,400 hectares of crops and toppled 609 houses in Shandong, inflicting a direct economic loss of 1.48 billion yuan, it said.
The typhoon has affected more than 130,000 residents in the province and 20,000 people have been evacuated as flooding damaged houses, crops and roads and disrupted electricity and telecommunications.
On Monday, Lekima had damaged nearly 6,000 hectares of crops, toppled 364 houses and damaged 439 houses in Anhui, causing a direct economic loss of 437 million yuan, said the provincial emergency management department.
The typhoon also affected Liaoning province as it moved northward.
More than 106,000 residents have been relocated, 28 trains disrupted and all major tourist destinations closed.
(With IANS inputs)