Typhoon Mujigae blamed for at least 9 deaths in Philippines, China

Authorities in China and the Philippines said Monday that a typhoon that tore through the northern Philippines before roaring ashore in southern China has killed at least nine people and left dozens of fishermen missing.

Typhoon Mujigae also prompted several strong tornadoes when it landed in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong on Sunday, killing at least five people and injured 168 people, local authorities said.

In one case, a tornado swept up a car and killed the person inside, the civil affairs department of Guangdong said.

The official Xinhua News Agency said one fisherman also was killed and an additional 16 were reported missing in China.

Mujigae, the 22nd typhoon of the year, went through the northern Philippines early Saturday, causing floods and a few landslides. It left two dead and about 30 fishermen missing, said regional Office of Civil Defence spokesman Mike Sabado.

Nearly 200,000 people in southern China were evacuated before Typhoon Mujigae "rainbow" in Korean made landfall near the city of Zhanjiang in Guangdong province just after 2 p.m. Sunday, according to the National Meteorological Center.

By Monday morning, the typhoon had moved into the neighbouring region of Guangxi and its high wind speed dropped to 54 kilometres per hour. The region had ordered 12,700 fishing boats and 35,400 offshore workers to return to port.

The typhoon lashed southern China, including the resort island province of Hainan, where thousands of Chinese have flocked during the weeklong National Day holiday that runs through Wednesday.

Scores of flights in and out of Hainan's main airport in the provincial capital of Haikou have been cancelled, and high-speed rail service between Haikou and the tourist centre of Sanya was suspended over the weekend.

Meanwhile, more than 500 tourists were sheltering in hotels in Guangdong's Fangji island after attempts to evacuate them were disrupted by high winds, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Nearly 200 fishermen in the Philippines had been reported missing at the height of the storm, mostly from the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union, but most sailed back home after taking shelter or were rescued at sea.