BEIJING, July 18 (AFP): The strongest typhoon to hit southern China in more than 40 years made landfall Friday, authorities said, after leaving a trail of destruction and at least 54 dead in the neighbouring Philippines.
China's National Meteorological Center (NMC) said Super Typhoon Rammasun hit Hainan island in midafternoon, packing winds of up to 216 kilometres (134 miles) an hour.
It was expected to bring torrential rains and was the strongest storm to strike the country's southern regions since 1973, the NMC said.
It claimed its first victim in China soon after coming ashore in Wenchang, the official Xinhua news agency reported, when a man was killed by debris as his house collapsed.
State-run China Central Television in news bulletins showed images of wind-whipped trees in Hainan and high waves churned up by the typhoon.
Typhoon Rammasun hits southern China
FE Team | Published: July 19, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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