Typhoon Rammasun toll 26 in China

The number of people killed by typhoon Rammasun in China has risen to 26, officials said Monday.

Thirteen deaths were reported in south China's Hainan, nine in southwest China's Guangxi and four in neighbouring Yunnan, Xinhua reported.

The latest statistics showed that more than 5.57 million people were affected by Rammasun as it swept through dozens of southern coastal cities in Guangdong and Hainan provinces, and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The typhoon has damaged power and water supplies, telecommunications networks, ports and roads, and made rescue work more difficult.

Hainan, where Rammasun made its first landfall Friday afternoon, suffered the worst damage.

The typhoon destroyed about 51,000 houses and 40,600 hectares of crops, causing economic losses of over 10.8 billion yuan ($1.74 billion).

Guangxi, which is still under the spell of the typhoon, has reported a direct economic loss of 1.63 billion yuan.

Rammasun, which first made landfall in the eastern province of Albay in the Philippines Tuesday has claimed at least 94 lives with six people still missing in that country.

Rammasun has been the strongest typhoon to hit south China in four decades.