Prapiroon kills 6 as it lashes south China

BEIJING, Aug 4: Tropical Storm Prapiroon today killed six people as it lashed south China with heavy rain and winds after forcing the evacuation of nearly half a million and snarling transport links across the region.

Five were killed by houses collapsing in the coastal province of Guangdong, where the storm made landfall at typhoon strength late yesterdayday, Xinhua news agency said.

Another person died in a landslide in the neighbouring region of Guangxi, where Prapiroon moved into today but continued to weaken, Xinhua said.

More than 800 houses collapsed and 337 hectares of crops were destroyed in Guangxi, bringing direct economic losses totalling 23.8 million yuan, it said.

Staff workers at the airport of the regional capital Nanning said many flights had been cancelled or delayed today.

More than 400,000 people across Guangdong, Guangxi and the island province of Hainan, where heavy rains are likely to continue through tomorrow, fled their homes ahead of Prapiroon, which earlier killed six people in the Philippines.

State television showed pictures of huge trees uprooted by the roadside in the Guangdong city of Shenzhen.

Tens of thousands of boats in the areas returned to harbour ahead of the storm.

Today morning, the last 12 of 68 people aboard a barge off the Guangdong coast near the city of Yangjiang were brought to safety after being stranded at sea overnight as high winds hampered rescue efforts, Xinhua said.

And 40 vessels carrying around 100 fishermen returned to port in Guangxi on Friday after spending a night at sea as strong winds and rough seas prevented them from reaching the shore, a local official said by telephone.

The financial hub of Hong Kong escaped a direct hit from Prapiroon, which means ''God of rain'' in Thai, but strong winds caused chaos at the airport.

More than 600 flights in Hong Kong were affected, and the airport was choked for a second day with thousands of stranded and tired passengers.

Rail links and ferry services between Hong Kong and the mainland were also suspended, Xinhua said.

Prapiroon was the sixth storm of the season to batter southern China, which is still reeling from tropical storms Bilis and Kaemi. Bilis killed more than 600 people when it struck in July, and was quickly followed by Kaemi, which claimed at least 30 lives.

REUTERS