CHINA TYPHOON DEATH TOLL RISES TO 164

18.08.2004 [16:32]
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The worst typhoon to hit China in seven years killed at least 164 people, and another 24 were listed as missing, Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday.

Typhoon Rananim, which made landfall in eastern Zhejiang province late on Thursday, forced 467,900 people to flee their homes and injured about 1,800 people, it said.

A spokesman with the provincial government said 109 of the victims had died when their houses collapsed.

The storm battered the rice-growing province with torrential rain and gale-force winds, knocked down more than 430,000 buildings, and caused more than 16.4 billion yuan (US$2 billion) in direct economic losses, Xinhua said.

A landslide in Yueqing killed 29 people and left 18 missing and feared dead, the agency and a local official said.

Officials and residents said the storm was the worst since 1997 when Typhoon Winnie struck the coast, killing nearly 250 people and causing 19.8 billion yuan worth of damage.

CHINA TYPHOON DEATH TOLL RISES TO 164

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