Typhoon Matmo kills 13 people in China, leaving thousands homeless

USPA News - Typhoon Matmo has killed at least thirteen people and left thousands of people homeless after making landfall in southeastern China earlier this week, the government said on Sunday, the same day the death toll from another typhoon this month reached 62. China`s Civil Affairs Ministry said at least thirteen deaths from Typhoon Matmo had been reported by Sunday morning. It said the powerful storm had destroyed nearly 2,600 houses and damaged 23,000 others in eastern and southeastern provinces.

Some 3.7 million people are estimated to be in need of basic living supplies, and direct economic losses are estimated at 3.37 billion yuan ($544.2 million) Most of the fatalities were reported in the southeastern province of Jiangxi, where at least nine people were killed. "Nearly 1,000 houses collapsed in Jiangxi and nearly 4,200 others suffered damage of various degrees. Affected crops is estimated at 34.5 million hectares (85.2 million acre)," the ministry said. At least four people were killed in neighboring Guangdong province, according to the ministry, which said nearly 100 houses were destroyed there and more than 100 others were severely damaged. Severe damage was also reported across the provinces of Shandong, Fujian, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Liaoning. The news came as the Civil Affairs Ministry increased the number of casualties from Super Typhoon Rammasun to at least 62, with another 21 still missing. Rammasun, the strongest typhoon to hit south China in four decades, caused gales, downpours and floods in many provinces across southern China when it made landfall earlier this month. The storm also killed at least 98 people in the Philippines. Typhoons Matmo and Rammasun, which are also known as Henry and Glenda, respectively, were part of the 2014 Pacific typhoon season which runs throughout the year, with most tropical cyclones forming between May and November.