6 killed, 8 missing in China as 'Nepartak' wrecks havoc

At least six people were killed and eight others listed missing as Typhoon Nepartak continued to wreck havoc in China's Fujian and Jiangxi provinces, officials said.
With this the death toll in the recent heavy rains and floods in China mounted to 172 while about 40 people still remain unaccounted for.
As Nepartak, the first typhoon of the season, struck two days ago, it destroyed close to 1,900 houses, affecting 203,000 residents in 10 cities, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said late last night.
A total of 449,000 people were affected, it said.
Nearly 15,800 hectares of crops were damaged by the typhoon, of which 1,600 hectares were totally destroyed, while the direct economic losses were estimated at USD 128.7 million, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Earlier reports said Nepartak made first landfall early on Friday in eastern Taiwan, packing winds of up to 190 km per hour, gusting up to 234 km per hour.
It landed in Fujian province on Saturday afternoon and faded into a tropical depression early yesterday.
But meteorological authorities say rainfalls are forecast to continue in Fujian and in provinces including Jiangxi and Zhejiang, bringing more risks to the already-weather battered area, according to Xinhua.