Death toll from super typhoon Rammasun rises to 16 in China

Photo taken on July 19, 2014 shows a tree uprooted due to the super typhoon Rammasun in Qinzhou City of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Typhoon Rammasun, the ninth in this year and the strongest in decades, made its latest landfall in southwest China's Guangxi at 7:10 a.m. on Saturday and packed gales of up to 48 meters per second, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said in a statement. (Xinhua/Zhang Ailin)

The death toll from super typhoon Rammasun has increased to 16 as the strongest typhoon in four decades brought gales and downpours to a number of southern provinces.

More than 3.3 million people were affected by Rammasun, which swept dozens of southern coastal cities in Guangdong and Hainan provinces, and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, local civil affairs authorities said on Sunday.

As of 9 p.m. Saturday, Seven people were confirmed dead in Hainan, where the typhoon made its first landfall on Friday afternoon, while nine others died in Guangxi.

The typhoon also seriously damaged power and water facilities, telecommunications networks, ports and roads, making rescue work more difficult, according to local authorities.