Typhoon death toll reaches 70 in S China

BEIJING - A total of 70 people died and another 18 went missing as a result of Typhoon Utor, which hit China's southern regions last week, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said Thursday.

Guangdong province suffered the most typhoon-related casualties, with 43 reported deaths, while neighboring Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region reported 18 deaths as of 9 am Thursday.

Nine people were missing in Guangdong and eight more missing in Guangxi, the ministry said, citing reports from local agencies.

Hunan, another southern province hit by typhoon-triggered disasters, reported nine deaths and one missing person as of 9 am Tuesday. The ministry did not give new information on the province's death toll.

Rainstorms continued to wreak havoc in south China after Typhoon Utor made landfall on Wednesday last week.

The storms have affected more than eight million people and caused a direct economic loss of more than 13 billion yuan ($2.1 billion) in Guangdong.