54 killed in typhoon Fanapi in China

So far,the floods and landslides triggered by the typhoon has left 54 people dead while 42 others were missing,the state media reported.

The provincial government had to use helicopters to air drop relief material to victims,the official Xinhua news agency said.

More than 3,637 homes were destroyed and over 35,900 hectares of cropland inundated,the statement by the provincial flood control headquarters said.

Direct economic losses were estimated at about 2.11 billion yuan (around USD 315 million).

The Ministry of Civil Affairs said that 2,000 tents and 1,000 folding beds had been sent to Guangdong.

Typhoon Fanapi,the 11th and strongest typhoon in China this year,hit Fujian Province on Monday,but wreaked havoc mostly in Guangdong,which neighbours Fujian on the south.

No casualties have been reported in Fujian.

A day before hitting China,typhoon Fanapi lashed Taiwan with rains,leaving two people dead.