Typhoon Haiyan claims 6 in S. China

Six people have been killed with more than 500,000 affected in Hainan province and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region as a weakened Typhoon Haiyan hit the coast of southern China over the weekend, causing strong winds and torrential rains, authorities said.

The epicenter of the storm reached Ningming county in Guangxi on Monday morning, packing winds with speeds of up to 118 kilometers an hour and moving northeast at 15 km/h.

The region issued red alert on Monday, the highest in its four-tier warning system, and warned of rainstorms and gales until Tuesday.

Authorities suggested primary and middle schools in Beihai, Fangcheng and Qinzhou suspend classes.

Chen Yeguo from the region's meteorological bureau said outdoor work should be suspended and people not go outside in strong winds and heavy rain.

Rainstorms claimed one life in the region on Monday and caused four rivers in Guangxi to flood, with water levels still rising, the water resources bureau said.

The storm has killed five people in Hainan since Sunday, causing traffic problems and damaging farmland, said Chen Wu, deputy director of the province's flood control bureau.

Seven crewmembers of a cargo vessel went missing in the South China Sea on Sunday afternoon after the ship's mooring rope broke in the storm.

Two of them were confirmed dead on Monday, while search and rescue operations continue, Sanya maritime authorities said.

Nearly 600 houses were damaged and 51 collapsed in the downpours and strong winds brought by the typhoon, the civil affairs ministry said in a statement, and 39,000 people were evacuated in Hainan.

As the weather conditions improved, about 14,000 passengers who had been stranded at Sanya Phoenix International Airport left the island as of Monday afternoon, airport management said.

Power supplies were temporarily cut off in parts of southern Hainan on Sunday, with about 427,000 users affected, according to Hainan Power Grid.

On Monday, 131,600 users still had no electricity.

Haiyan also made landfall in northeastern Vietnam on late Sunday and Monday morning.

At least 13 Vietnamese people were killed and 81 others injured as the typhoon, packing winds about 117 km per hour, ripped through Vietnam's north-central and northern provinces.

The devastating typhoon hit the Philippines last week.

Su Qiulan in Nanning contributed to this story.