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Report: Typhoon Fanapi kills 13 in China, leaves 34 missing

By the CNN Wire Staff
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Fanapi batters parts of Guangdong province
  • Torrential rain leads to flooding and landslides
  • Nearly 350 houses topple and a dam bursts
  • The typhoon earlier killed three in Taiwan

(CNN) -- Thirteen people have died and 34 are missing as heavy rains from typhoon Fanapi flood parts of southern China, state-run media said Wednesday.

Fanapi battered parts of Guangdong province on Tuesday, and has since been downgraded to a tropical depression.

There were five deaths in Xinyi city, three in Rupingtang township, three in Yangchun city, and two in Gaozhou city, according to China Daily.

Torrential rain led to flooding and landslides, toppled nearly 350 houses, burst a dam at a mine and caused an estimated $68.5 million in damage in Xinyi, China Daily reported.

In Yangchun City, flooding forced the evacuation of nearly 19,000 residents.

In Fujian province, Fanapi forced the relocation of thousands of people.

The town of "Gulei has more than 3,000 workers living in makeshift houses at construction sites. All of them have been relocated. About 2,600 are staying with local residents and 400 are taking shelter in the schools," said Chen Hanfu, Communist Party secretary of Zhangpu county, which administers Gulei, according to China Daily.

Before reaching China, Fanapi was blamed in the accidental deaths of at least three people Saturday in Taiwan, according to Taiwan's official news agency.

Fanapi also caused extensive flooding in Taiwan, destroyed or damaged buildings, forced evacuations and prompted the cancellation of some airline flights.