Death toll in Prapiroon rises to 57
(Xinhua/Agencies)
Updated: 2006-08-06 08:57
Prapiroon, the sixth typhoon of the year, packed up strong winds and dumped
torrential rains in Guangdong, with Taishan, Enping, and Yangchun being worst
hit, affecting 3.72 million people and razing 7,000 houses. The direct economic
losses are forecast at 2.4 billion yuan (300 million U.S. dollars).
It even produced a tornado which struck areas including Foshan, Shanwei and
Shaoguan in Guangdong on Friday, causing nine deaths in Foshan, said a spokesman
from the Guangdong Provincial Office for Drought, Flood and Wind Control.
Information from the Civil Affairs Bureau of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
said 1.43 million people in 28 counties and urban areas were affected by the
rains brought along by Prapiroon, including 219,441 people who were displaced.
Prapiroon, which means Rain God in Thai, formed in the South China Sea and
strengthened into a typhoon on Wednesday noon.
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