Typhoon death toll reaches 49 in south China

Forty-nine people died and another 11 went missing as a result of Typhoon Utor, which hit China's southern regions last week, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said Tuesday. Guangdong Province suffered the most typhoon-related casualties, with 28 reported deaths, while neighboring Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Hunan Province reported 12 and nine deaths, respectively, as of 9 a.m. Tuesday. Ten people were missing in Guangdong and one more missing in Hunan, the ministry said, citing reports from local agencies. Rainstorms continued to wreak havoc in south China after Typhoon Utor made landfall last Wednesday. The storms have affected 7.24 million people and caused a direct economic loss of 10.6 billion yuan (1.72 billion U.S. dollars) in Guangdong.