Houses and vehicles are submerged in Nabang Village of Fangchenggang City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, 18 August 2012. Typhoon Kai-Tak has affected about 1.26 million people and 134,470 hectares of farmlands in Guangxi till 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Local flood control authority initiated a Level IV emergency response to cope with the possible flooding. Xinhua / Huang Xiaobang

NANNING, 18 August 2012 (Xinhua) – Typhoon Kai-Tak had affected more than 1.26 million people in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, leaving one dead and two missing, local authorities said Saturday. As of 4:30 p.m., 1.2615 million people had been reported affected in 26 counties of six cities, and 68,600 people had been relocated to safe places, said an official of the regional civil affairs bureau. The typhoon also affected more than 134,470 hectare of crops and flattened 1,912 houses of 678 families, and brought an economic loss of 608 million yuan (about 95.6 million U.S. dollars) to the region, the official said.

Typhoon Kai-Tak affects 12.6 mln people in S. China Two citizens wade through a waterlogged road in Fangchenggang City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, 18 August 2012. Typhoon Kai-Tak has affected about 1.26 million people and 134,470 hectares of farmlands in Guangxi till 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Local flood control authority initiated a Level IV emergency response to cope with the possible flooding. Xinhua / Huang Xiaobang

Beijing, 17 August 2012 (IANS) – Thousands of passengers were stranded at airports in China Friday with transport services being suspended as Typhoon Kai-Tak battered southern regions of the country. Kai-Tak, the 13th tropical storm of the year, whirled into the Huguang township in Guangdong province around 12.30 a.m. Friday, bringing downpours and gales, Xinhua reported. Off the eastern Zhanjiang coast, the violent weather triggered waves as high as four metres. In Zhanjiang city, trees and billboards could be seen scattered along the roads while most of the shops and restaurants remained closed. Hundreds of passengers were stranded at an airport in Beihai city in Guangxi Zhuang region, after 16 flights linking Beijing, Shanghai, Kunming, Changsha areas were cancelled. Sources from the Maritime Search and Rescue Center of Qinzhou city said, six people were still trapped after their ship was marooned in Qinzhou Port, Thursday evening. Helicopter, tugs and patrol boats were dispatched to the site for rescuing the trapped people, said the city authorities. According to fishery departments of the coastal cities of Beihai, Qinzhou and Fangchenggang, as of 1 p.m., more than 10,000 fishing boats had been called back to harbours for shelter, and over 40,000 fishermen and seafood farmers have gone ashore to avoid heavy rains, gales and waves. Elsewhere, the typhoon also led to delay and cancellation of 14 incoming flights and seven outgoing flights in Meilan International Airport, in Haikou, capital of the Hainan province. Also, in Hainan, where the heavy rains lashed, 23 flights had been cancelled and 18 others delayed at the Sanya Phoenix International Airport in Sanya City at 10.30 a.m., leaving 3,000 passengers helpless. […]

Typhoon Kai-Tak causes havoc in China People stand outside a waterlogged store in Fangchenggang City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, 18 August 2012. Typhoon Kai-Tak has affected about 1.26 million people and 134,470 hectares of farmlands in Guangxi till 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Local flood control authority initiated a Level IV emergency response to cope with the possible flooding. Xinhua / Huang Xiaobang

By Daryl Loo; Editing by Paul Tighe
18 August 2012 BEIJING – Typhoon Kai-tak weakened into a tropical depression after blowing over houses, triggering floods and causing more than 500,000 people to be evacuated as it swept through the south of China. The typhoon will continue to cause rainstorms in Yunnan province and China’s southern regions today, after weakening when it reached northern Vietnam at 2:00 p.m. China time yesterday, the China Meteorological Administration said. Floods triggered by the typhoon caused the emergency evacuation of 526,000 people in the provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan, while more than 3,000 houses collapsed in its wake, the Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the Ministry of Civil Affairs. It caused one death while two people remain missing, according to the report. More than 700 villagers near Qinzhou, a port city about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of China’s border with Vietnam, were trapped in their homes, Xinhua said in a separate report. Flooding due to the typhoon rains affected more than 60,000 in districts near Qinzhou, with more than 8,700 people evacuated to safety, according to the Xinhua report, which cited flood control authorities. Hong Kong on Aug. 17 lowered its tropical cyclone warning, first to a No. 3 Strong Wind Signal and then to a No. 1 Standby Signal, as Typhoon Kai-tak passed, the Hong Kong Observatory said on its website.

Typhoon Kai-tak Weakens in South China After 500,000 Evacuated