Typhoon Linfa affects 1.6m people in Guangdong

GUANGZHOU - More than 1.6 million people were affected by the rainstorms brought by Typhoon Linfa, which made landfall in South China's Guangdong province on Thursday.

Around 288 houses collapsed and 56,000 people were displaced after the storm caused a direct economic loss of 1.3 billion yuan ($213 million), said the Guangdong Civil Affairs Department.

No casualties have been reported.

Linfa landed in the coastal area of Shanwei City at midday Thursday, with winds of up to 126 km per hour. More than 130 townships in five cities were affected by downpours.

However, the storm brought little rainfall to Zhanjiang City, which has been hit by its worst drought in history this year.

Civil affairs authorities in Guangdong have organized disaster relief for the rainstorm-hit areas.

The country is currently on high alert for super typhoon Chan-hom, which is forecast to land in the coastal area between eastern Fujian and Zhejiang provinces on Friday night or Saturday morning, with winds of up to 208 km per hour.