Typhoon Haikui wrecks havoc on China's coast, 3 killed

Haikui, the 11th typhoon to hit China this year lashed Zhejiang Province in the early hours today with winds speeds touching 150 km. It brought heavy downpours to east China and killed three people there, China Daily said.

In Zhejiang province, the typhoon has affected more than 4.03 million people and caused economic losses of more than 10 billion yuan (USD 1.57 billion), the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters said, adding that the typhoon has also destroyed 4,452 houses and damaged about 184,800 hectares of cropland.

Rain-triggered flooding stranded about 130 people in three hotels in the city of Lin'an, of which 123 people have been rescued so far, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Roads to the hotels were flooded, forcing the rescuers to walk the last two kilometres on foot, rescuers said.

Another 300 tourists were stranded in a scenic area in Anji County after a bridge linking the scenic spot and the foot of a nearby mountain was destroyed yesterday, county officials said.

The bridge was briefly fixed yesterday afternoon and some tourists were rescued, but the bridge was severed again today morning after more rains hit the area, officials said.

The rains have also caused 12 townships to lose power, according to the provincial power company.

Railway authorities have cancelled all passenger trains departing from and arriving at the cities of Hangzhou and Ningbo in Zhejiang.

The Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport closed at 7:30 am (local time) due to strong winds, airport staff said