The official death toll in Hainan province and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region was raised to 10 on Tuesday after Typhoon Haiyan grazed the coast of southern China, with millions affected, according to local civil affairs authorities.

Heavy rain and strong winds caused massive damage to houses and farmland over the past three days, disrupting flights and road traffic and forcing schools to close.

More than 1,000 students and teachers at a middle school in Guigang in Guangxi were stranded on the upper floors of the school as floodwaters rose to 1.5 meters on Tuesday morning. They were later rescued by firefighters.