Typhoon Mujigae kills at least seven in China

The death toll from a powerful typhoon in southern China has reached 20 people, Chinese state media reported Wednesday.

The typhoon lashed southern China when it made landfall on Sunday. “At least I have not seen in the last 30 years as a forecaster”, said Lin Liangxun, chief expert at the provincial meteorological station in Guangdong. “Nobody expected this to get to Category 4 strength”. About 117 of the fishermen caught by typhoon were rescued according to local maritime authorities.

Typhoon Mujigae, which landed in Guangdong province on Sunday, has also led to the injuries of 223 people, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Its outer rainbands spawned tornadoes that killed at least three people in Foshan, near Guangdong, while a few of the heaviest rain fell in Hong Kong.

It said another seven died in landslides caused by the typhoon, including four in Xinyi City, one in Guangning County and two in Luoding City.

In Guangxi, one person was killed after being hit by a fallen tree in the region’s capital of Nanning.

Guangdong’s civil affairs department estimates the province suffered 23 billion yuan (HK$28 billion) in losses from the storm, which affected 3.5 million people and damaged more than 280,000 hectares of crops.

“From its formation to landing, the typhoon traveled 800 miles in 57 hours, while most other typhoons land in Guangdong three to four days after formation”, he added.

There have been more than 500 tourists that were stranded on Fangji island, and authorities began to evacuate them from the island on Saturday before they were being forced to halt the operation because of the strong winds.