Typhoon Ramassun toll in China rises to 56

Beijing, July 23 (IANS) The number of people killed by typhoon Rammasun in China has gone up to 56 with 20 missing, officials said Wednesday.

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.

Nineteen deaths were reported in south China's Hainan, nine in south China's Guangxi and 28 in Yunnan.

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 Friday afternoon, suffered the worst damage.

Rammasun, which first made landfall in the eastern province of Albay in the Philippines Tuesday last week, has claimed at least 94 lives with six people still missing in that country.