Typhoon leaves trail of death and mayhem

A man walks in front of a collapsed construction shed flattened by passing Typhoon Mujigae in Bobai county, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Monday. Zhanga Ilin/ Xinhua

At least six people were killed and another 223 injured when Typhoon Mujigae battered Guangdong province on Sunday.

According to the China Meteorological Administration, Zhanjiang in Guangdong province felt the brunt of the typhoon's force when it hit the coast at around 2 pm on Sunday afternoon with winds of up to 50 meters per second.

The local authorities have issued a "red alert", the highest level of emergency response, and staff have been called back from their holidays to deal with the typhoon's aftermath. Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes and many areas worst hit by the typhoon are without electricity.

"It was a downpour from day to night. All the lights were out and I had to use the flashlight on my cellphone in the evening. I was so afraid that my battery would run out," said Huang Mu, a resident of Shunde district in Foshan.

She said her mother had rushed to buy candles on Monday, but all the stores were out of stock.

"The storm ruined our holiday plans - my husband and I planed to take kids hiking and on cycle rides," Huang said.

"Now the whole family has to stay at home and play mah-jong, although we can only play during the day."

More than 24,000 power maintenance workers in Guangdong are dealing with the power cuts, according to China Southern Power Grid.

Nearly 39,000 fishing boats from Guangdong and more than 25,000 fishing boats from Hainan province were told to return to harbor or seek shelter because of the typhoon, the 22nd of the year. But, as of Sunday, although 117 fishermen had being rescued, 16 were still missing, according to the Zhanjiang maritime rescue center.

As the typhoon landed during the country's National Day holiday, which is peak travel period, many tourists were also affected.

Flights were canceled in southern coastal areas, including Hainan and Guangdong, and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

And more than 500 tourists have been stranded on Fangji Island, a popular scenic spot administered by the city of Maoming in Guangdong province, said the city's office handling floods, droughts and typhoons.

The authorities began to evacuate tourists from the island on Saturday, but the operation was interrupted by strong winds. The remaining tourists were transferred to hotels and more than 130 emergency workers and a dozen police officers are caring for them.

Fangji has called off all entertainment activities at sea and tightened its inspections of dangerous areas.

The Guangdong authorities have also canceled sightseeing and leisure activities at sea for the time being. While Guangxi has closed some popular attractions, including Weizhou Island, China's largest volcanic island. The site usually draws tens of thousands of tourists during the holiday.

Guangxi also suspended the services of 11 high-speed trains running along the coast for 12 hours from noon on Sunday and halted ticket sales of the trains till Monday noon.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

luowangshu@chinadaily.com.cn