Typhoon kills 31 in China

Prapiroon caused torrential rains in Guangdong province, affecting 3.72 million people and causing an estimated 2.4 billion yuan.

At least 31 people were confirmed dead and 14 missing in south China in floods triggered by typhoon Prapiroon.

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Prapiroon caused torrential rains in Guangdong province, affecting 3.72 million people and causing an estimated 2.4 billion yuan ($300 million) in direct economic losses.

Details of the damage it caused will emerge only after further investigations, a local official said.

Prapiroon, the sixth major storm to hit China this season, made landfall at the coastal area between Yangxi and Dianbai counties in western Guangdong on Thursday.

By morning on Friday, the typhoon was downgraded to a tropical storm after it swirled into the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region west of Guangdong, dumping rain in areas it swept through.

Prapiroon, which means Rain God in Thai, formed in the South China Sea and strengthened into a typhoon on Wednesday noon.