China storm death toll rises to 39

BEIJING, Aug 22 (Reuters) - A typhoon killed at least 39 people as it swept across southeast China this week, destroying crops and battering homes, Xinhua news agency said.

Typhoon Sepat, which hit at the weekend and was expected to linger as a tropical depression through tomorrow, caused losses of nearly 5 billion yuan in the provinces of Fujian, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Hunan, Xinhua quoted the Ministry of Civil Affairs and local meteorologists as saying.

Landslides caused at least half the deaths. A tornado spun off the storm in Zhejiang's manufacturing hub of Wenzhou, which produces everything from shoes to cigarette lighters, killing several people.

Disaster officials in the Philippines said three people drowned in flooding caused by Sepat and parts of the capital and surrounding provinces remained under water.

Taiwan's disaster centre said one person had died and several had been injured in the typhoon. About 2,500 people were evacuated and nearly 9,000 homes were still without electricity.

REUTERS AK KP1932