Typhoon Son-Tinh wreaks havoc in South China

BEIJING - Son-Tinh, the 23rd typhoon of the year, wreaked havoc in south China, damaging crops, flattening houses and forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people.

Influenced by the typhoon, the island province of Hainan was pelted by heavy rains to rainstorms, coming along with force nine to ten gales, according to the Hainan Provincial Civil Affairs Bureau.

One person was killed and another six remain missing. The storm also destroyed 10,900 hectares of crops, flattened 716 houses and seriously damaged 1,324 houses. A total of 126,000 people had been relocated from low-lying areas or their damaged houses as of 3:30 pm, the bureau said.

The island has so far reported direct economic losses of 990 million yuan.

Typhoon Son-Tinh landed in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Monday with gales and rainstorms, forcing the evacuation of 27,300 people, said the region's civil affairs department.

The department added that direct economic losses reached 253 million yuan in Guangxi, after the storm destroyed more than 600 houses and damaged 22,000 hectares of crops.