Typhoon Rammasun kills eight in China
Digital Reporter
Saturday, July 19, 2014, 2:56 PM -
Typhoon Rammasun has become the strongest typhoon to hit China since 1973, not long after killing dozens of people in the Philippines.
The powerful storm boasted winds gusting up to 216 km/h when it began to lash southern China on Friday, damaging buildings and knocking down power lines, according to the Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
It's been blamed for five deaths and 99 injuries on the Chinese island of Hainan. Another three were killed when the storm struck the mainland province of Guangxi.
Chinese authorities declared a state of emergency in the region as the storm approaching, shutting down rail and air links.
The storm hit the Philippines hard, with an estimated 77 people losing their lives earlier in the week, and then regained intensity once back over water en route to China and Vietnam.
An estimated 26,000 homes were damaged in the Philippines, with around 7,000 of those destroyed completely.
Rammasun has begun to weaken, but Vietnamese authorities have begun evacuating more than 100,000 people as a precaution.
With files from CNN and the Associated Press.
DON'T MISS: Read about the deadliest tropical storms in history.
