Typhoon Kak-Tak causes oil spill in China

Beijing: Typhoon Kai-Tak has caused heavy damage in China's two provinces killing one person and causing economic loss runing into $315 million, besides triggering an oil spill.

The typhoon, the 13th tropical storm to hit China this year, has left one person dead and two missing in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region so far and about 110,000 residents there remain threatened, state-run Xinhua news agency said.

It also affected 1.74 million people in nearby Guangdong province before moving to Guangxi yesterday resulting in an economic loss of nearly 2 billion yuan ($315 million).

Also an oil ship anchored near Beihai, a coastal city in Guangxi, drifted and collided into the bank, spilling five tonnes of oil.

The local government initiated an emergency response plan and sent a work team to clean up the spill and cordon off the contaminated area to prevent the pool from expanding.

Clean up efforts have ended and marine authorities have taken samples of the sea water to test the pollution level around the location of the accident, the report said.

No obvious effects of the spill could be seen on major sea surfaces and beaches around Beihai, as the spill occurred in a semi-enclosed small gulf, according to He Xiaolong, deputy secretary general of the Beihai government.

More than 700 villagers in Qinzhou, another city in Guangxi, have been trapped in their homes by typhoon-triggered flooding, the local government said Saturday.

Heavy rains have swept the city since Thursday, inundating three villages in Dazhi Township, Qinbei District.

Meanwhile, two people remained missing after falling into a river in Shangsi County on Friday evening, according to the bureau.

More than 300 police officers and firefighters have been dispatched to carry out relief efforts across Fangchenggang, the bureau said.

Sources from Nanning Railway Bureau said about eight railway lines have been affected by torrential rain and gales brought by Kai-Tak since Thursday, and the railways linking Hechun and Maoming, and Zhanjiang were closed on Friday.