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Typhoon slams into southern China

Thousands evacuated; rice and banana crops destroyed; storm heads towards Vietnam

SHANGHAI: Typhoon Damrey slammed into southern China's resort island of Hainan on Monday, killing at least two persons, collapsing houses and sweeping away rice, rubber and banana crops.

Packing wind speeds of up to 198 kmph, Damrey (a Cambodian word for elephant) made landfall north of Hainan's Wanning City on Monday, the official Xinhua News Agency said. It was the island's strongest typhoon since September 1973, the agency said.

The storm scoured the island's southern portion before heading out to sea toward Vietnam to the west. More than 200,000 persons were being evacuated along the coast ahead of its expected arrival on Tuesday, Xinhua said, citing Vietnamese officials. The storm was moving at a speed 18 kmph, the Hong Kong Observatory reported on its Web site.

Both victims were women who died in Wanning as they were preparing to flee, according to Xinhua.

Hotels in the Yalong Bay resort district were largely empty, with lingering tourists barricading themselves in their rooms, said hotel receptionists answering phones.

One of China's poorest regions, Hainan has in recent years marketed itself as ``China's Hawaii,'' cashing in on its tropical climate, pristine beaches and the colourful cultures of hill tribes living in its mountainous centre.

Flights in and out of Phoenix International Airport in Hainan's main southern city of Sanya were cancelled from Sunday evening, said a woman who answered the phone at the airport's customer service desk.

The typhoon also knocked out Hainan's electrical grid, cutting power to most of the island's 8 million people, Xinhua said. Rice fields were flooded, and fruit and rubber trees sheered off by the winds. Strong winds and rain were lashing areas as far away as Hong Kong, about 600 km to the northeast.

While still a tropical storm in the Philippines last week, Damrey triggered rains that killed at least 18 persons.

Expecting a disaster

``We are expecting a disaster but we have to minimise it,'' said Zhou, an official at Hainan's anti-flood headquarters.

``We tried to evacuate as many people as we could from dangerous areas, so we are hoping that this will not be a big disaster,'' he said.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has ordered officials in southern China to brace for Damrey and ensure that emergency measures were in place.

``We must closely monitor the movements of the typhoon and make full preparations for the safety of reservoirs, step up work on protecting against landslides and flooding in mountainous regions and encourage sea vessels to return to ports,'' Mr. Wen was quoted as saying on Sunday. — AP/PTI

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