Typhoon Mujigae kills 11 in South China, cuts off power

The main coastal street is flooded due to typhoon Mujigae in Zhanjiang city, south China's Guangdong Province, Oct. 4, 2015. (Xinhua/Wu Lu)

GUANGZHOU, Oct. 5--At least 11 people were killed and another 243 injured when Typhoon Mujigae made a surprise landing in southern China since Sunday.

In Guangdong, ten people were killed and four others went missing, while one was killed in neighboring Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, according to their provincial civil affairs departments.

In addition, tornadoes triggered by the typhoon damaged houses and destroyed other infrastructure in Guangzhou, the provincial capital, and Foshan, killing six people.

In neighboring Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, one person was killed after being hit by a fallen tree in Nanning, the region's capital city.

The typhoon has affected 3.16 million residents in 25 counties of Guangdong, forcing the evacuation of nearly 150,000 people.

Inflicting direct economic loss of 12.5 billion yuan (about 1.97 billion U.S. dollars), it destroyed more than 2,800 rooms and damaged nearly 196,000 hectares of farmland in the province.

The provincial civil affairs department has allocated 20 million yuan in disaster relief fund to worst-hit areas.

Guangxi has evacuated 66,300 people as the disaster affected about 1.4 million residents in 22 counties. It caused direct economic losses of 175 million yuan for the region.

Packing winds up to 60 meters per second, the typhoon landed in Zhanjiang, Guangdong at 2:10 p.m. Sunday.

"Mujigae is a super-fast attacker that has not been seen in decades. At least I have not seen in the last 30 years as a forecaster," said Lin Liangxun, chief expert at Guangdong provincial meteorological station.

"From its formation to landing, the typhoon traveled 800 miles in 57 hours, while most other typhoons land in Guangdong three to four days after formation," said Lin.

In Zhanjiang, gales and downpour brought a telecommunications blackout, cutting off power and water in most areas. At least 10 percent of households were still without electricity Monday.

China Southern Power Grid has sent workers from neighboring areas to Zhanjiang, but restoration of the power supply will take longer time due to damage to the local grid.

In Daba Township of Guangxi, village head Pang Meizhi told Xinhua that half of the village's paddy fields would have no harvest at all. The village has a power blackout and unstable telecommunications connection.

Li Bing, chief of Daba, said the typhoon has been the worst natural disaster in Daba for years, affecting seven villages and nearly 10,000 residents.