At least 13 people were killed and another 14 injured when tropical storm Kammuri struck the southern Chinese province of Guangdong early Monday morning, according to Guangdong provincial flood prevention headquarters.

Twenty others were still missing by press time.

The storm, accompanied by torrential rains, ripped through the coastal cities of Shanwei, Shantou and Lufeng in the eastern part of Guangdong Province, causing extensive damage.

A great deal of crop land was flooded, and many bridges, tunnels and power lines were destroyed.

Water and electricity supplies in some of the storm-hit areas were also cut off.

Local officials are still tallying the direct economic losses from Kammuri.

In Wuhua County alone, 10 farmers were killed when they were swallowed by a massive landslide on Monday morning.

In Shantou, two people were electrocuted when they were repairing power facilities amid heavy rain.

Shantou International Airport was closed for more than four hours on Monday, with 10 domestic and international flights cancelled or delayed.

The provincial government has sent a relief group headed by Zhou Bingnan, deputy secretary-general of the provincial government, to the flood-hit areas to help local residents rebuild their homes and restore production as soon as possible.

Eight scheduled flights were delayed at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, while another nine arrival flights had to be diverted to other airports near Guangzhou yesterday.

Affected by Kammuri, many cities in Guangdong, including Guangzhou, Foshan, Zhongshan and Zhuhai, have been soaked with heavy rains over the past three days.

(China Daily August 7, 2002)