Agricultural experts sent to aid relief efforts in typhoon-hit region

HANGZHOU - Authorities in east China's Zhejiang province have sent 35 teams with over 100 senior agricultural experts to aid relief efforts in the regions hit by Typhoon Lekima.

The ninth and strongest typhoon of the year has left 48 dead and 21 missing in the eastern Chinese provinces of Zhejiang, Shandong and Anhui. Zhejiang was the worst hit as the typhoon made the first landing there, leaving 39 dead and nine missing.

The typhoon, which local authorities called the most devastating one to hit Zhejiang since 1956, also inflicted heavy losses to agriculture.

Senior experts will work with around 10,000 agricultural technicians across the province to provide technical guidance to help resume production, said the provincial department of agriculture and rural affairs.

Local authorities are checking the agricultural, animal husbandry and fishing facilities to prevent secondary disasters.

The department also said local policy insurance firms have received 8,182 agriculture-related insurance claims worth of 210 million yuan (29.7 million US dollars).

In the worst-hit city of Linhai, the floodwaters have receded and local residents are clearing their houses once inundated by 2.5 meters of water.

By Monday afternoon, the typhoon had left 8.97 million people impacted in the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, Anhui, Fujian, Hebei, Liaoning and Jilin as well as the city of Shanghai, while some 1.71 million people were relocated, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.

In Shandong, where the typhoon made a second landing, five people were killed, seven were missing and over 370,000 were relocated to safety.