Typhoon Ramassun toll 62 in China

Beijing, July 25 (IANS) The number of people killed in typhoon Rammasun in China has escalated to 62 with 21 missing, officials said Friday.

Rammasun is the strongest typhoon to hit China in four decades and has affected more than 11 million people in the southern coastal provinces of Hainan, Guangdong, Yunnan and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Xinhua reported.

A total of 862,000 people have been evacuated and some 261,000 are in urgent need of humanitarian aid.

The typhoon has caused direct economic losses of 38.48 billion yuan ($6.25 billion).

The typhoon has damaged power and water supplies, telecommunications networks, ports and roads, and made rescue work more difficult.

Hainan, where Rammasun made its first landfall July 18, suffered the worst damage.

Rammasun made its first landfall in the eastern province of Albay in the Philippines July 15.