Typhoon Krosa kills 18 in Taiwan, brings floods to China

Beijing/Taipei_(dpa) _ Typhoon Krosa, which wreaked havoc in Taiwan over the weekend, brought strong winds, rain and floods to south-eastern China on Sunday and Monday, affecting more than five million people, officials said.

Taiwan officials said the storm killed 18 people and caused at least 1.16 billion Taiwan dollars (35 million US) in agricultural losses.

The storm left three people missing in addition to the 18 dead, becoming one of the deadliest typhoons to have hit the island, according to the death toll compiled by local news media.

Krosa, which hit China on Sunday and Monday, has created serious damage to various parts of Taiwan, with the agricultural sector being the worst hit.

"As of Monday morning, farmers have reported 968 million Taiwan dollars in crop losses and 192 million Taiwan dollars in poultry, fishery, plantation and other losses," said the Council of Agriculture in a statement.

The council asked farmers to report their losses to relevant authorities in order to apply for cash relief and low-interest rate loans to tide them over.

Krosa, a Khmer work meaning crane, originated from the Philippine Sea last week. It brought strong winds and heavy rain to Taiwan, paralyzing Taiwan's land and air traffic.

Most of the 18 killed were buried alive in a landslide while the others died in accidents caused by Krosa which made its landfall on north-eastern Taiwan Saturday evening.

Three people, including a chef at a hot-spring resort in northern Taiwan, were reported missing.

At least 53 people were injured across the island in various weather-related accidents, according to police and local news media.

Officials in China evacuated at least 1.41 million people in the provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian, and floods caused by Krosa destroyed more than 1,650 houses in Zhejiang, the civil affairs ministry said.

The typhoon brought average rainfall of 127 millimetres to Zhejiang from Sunday afternoon to Monday morning, causing damage estimated at 4.58 billion yuan (594 million dollars), the official Xinhua news agency said.

It weakened into a tropical storm and there were no reports of casualties in mainland China by Monday afternoon.

Public transport, power supplies, air and shipping services were affected in parts of Zhejiang and Fujian. dpa le bs jh