Beijing: The death toll has gone up to 28 after typhoon Meranti, the world's strongest typhoon this year, wreaked havoc as it passed through China, authorities reported on Saturday.
Typhoon Meranti arrived in Xiamen province early on Thursday. The typhoon has left another 15 missing in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces of China, Xinhua news agency reported.
Authorities earlier said that 18 persons died and 11 were missing in Fujian province. The typhoon paralysed several cities in the south of the province, including Xiamen, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou.
Around 3,31,000 persons were relocated in Fujian, where authorities estimate the direct economic losses to be $2.6 billion.
Workers were still trying to restore electricity in the city of Xiamen, which was left in a massive blackout after the typhoon also disrupted its water supply.
Some parts of Xiamen's railway network were also damaged and 61 train routes will be modified between September 16 and 25.
Ten persons died and four remain unaccounted for in neighbouring Zhejiang after the typhoon brought heavy rainfall. Over 902 houses collapsed and over 1.5 million persons were affected, authorities said.
As Meranti waned, China's meteorological authority issued a yellow alert for Typhoon Malakas on Saturday, forecasting strong winds and heavy rain.
Heavy rain will sweep parts of Zhejiang and Fujian, as well as central and north parts of Taiwan from Saturday to Sunday, with up to 120 mm of rain expected, meteorological authorities said.
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