Damrey, the 18th typhoon to hit China this year, has claimed 16 lives in south China's Hainan Province after it slammed into the island province early Monday morning.

Damrey landed to the north of Wanning City in the eastern part of Hainan Province at about 4:00 AM on Monday.

Sixteen people have so far been confirmed dead, most of them killed when a building collapsed on them.

The cost of damage to the island has risen past 8.46 billion yuan (US$1.04 billion), as estimated by the Ministry of Civil Affairs yesterday.

Damrey ravaged the island for about 15 hours, causing heavy economic losses to Hainan, famous for its beach resorts and tropical fruit. It will take about 25 days before the province's power grid resumes normal functions, local authorities said.

More than 5,000 houses collapsed, and 3.89 million people affected. About 111,000 hectares of farmland is flooded while Fish- and prawn-rearing ponds, coastal dikes and other water conservancy facilities were also breached.

Damrey continued its trail of fury and slammed into Vietnam yesterday, cutting power supplies and uprooting trees there.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime event," said Zhang Dong, a fisherman at the Qinglan Harbour of Wenchang, pointing to a sunken ship. "I've never seen such big wind in the last 40 years. We tied the boats together in the harbor, but most were still damaged."

The effects of Damrey were felt in Guangdong Province as well where torrential rain hampered rescue and recovery efforts. The downpour is expected to continue today and tomorrow in Zhanjiang on the Leizhou Peninsula. Ferry services across the Qiongzhou Strait had not resumed by yesterday afternoon, but services were scheduled to reopen by noon today.

More than 1,000 passengers and 600 vehicles were still stranded in Xuwen County at the southern tip of the peninsula yesterday.

Ministry figures showed that 436,000 people had been evacuated from Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan and that 5.71 million people in total have been affected.

Ferry services between Hainan and the mainland resumed on Tuesday.

(China Daily and Xinhua News Agency September 28, 2005)