8,000 evacuated as typhoon Usagi lashes C China

More than 8,000 people in central China's Hunan province have been relocated as downpours triggered by typhoon Usagi swept the area starting on Monday.

The downpours have affected 16,600 residents from Lanshan and Daoxian counties, which were also the worst-hit areas in Hunan when typhoons Utor and Trami made landfall in China in August, according to provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.

About 800 hectares of crops were damaged, and rushing water destroyed bridges and breached river embankments, the headquarters said.

From 8 a.m Monday to 7 a.m. Tuesday, the average precipitation reached 21.2 mm in the province, according to the provincial meteorological observatory.

Usagi -- Japanese for rabbit -- was designated a super typhoon on Saturday after it passed through the Philippines and Taiwan, moving toward China's mainland.

Although its power weakened on Sunday, the storm's winds still reached a speed of 45 meters per second at its eye upon landfall in south China's Guangdong province on Sunday evening.

At least 25 people have been killed in typhoon Usagi and natural disasters triggered by the storm in China.