Typhoon Rammasun kills eight in China

The strongest storm to hit southern China in more than 40 years has killed at least eight people there after causing devastation in the Philippines.

Aftermath of Typhoon Rammasun.

Typhoon Rammasun has pounded the Philippines capital killing at least five people. (AAP)

The strongest storm to hit southern China in more than 40 years has killed at least eight people there after
causing devastation in the Philippines.

Rammasun first made landfall in China on Friday afternoon as a super typhoon, packing winds exceeding 200 kilometres an hour and leaving five dead and 99 injured in Hainan province, state news agency Xinhua reported on Saturday.

Rammasun - meaning "Thunder God" in Thai - then lashed Guangdong province and the neighbouring Guangxi region where three people died, it added.

The storm had earlier sliced through the Philippines, killing 77 people at the latest count and wrecking more than 111,000 homes.

Rammasun was the most powerful storm to strike China's southern areas since 1973, the country's National Meteorological Center (NMC) said, and brought torrential rains.

The NMC had issued its highest "red alert" for the typhoon, the first such declaration this year. More than 70,000 people evacuated their homes.

Television pictures showed roads littered with debris including uprooted trees and rooftops while dozens of flights and rail links were suspended.

Rammasun was downgraded from a super typhoon to a severe typhoon on Saturday, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.

Share

2 min read

Published

Updated


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world