CRI听力:17 Dead, 5 Million Affected by Typhoon Rammasun

The death toll from typhoon Rammasun here in China has increased to 17.

One more person has been confirmed dead in Hainan, while two others are still listed as missing.

Direct economic losses from the massive storm have surged to nearly 23 billion yuan.

Liang Guangming works in the local aquiculture sector in Guangdong. His losses are estimated at about 200,000 yuan.

"The houses and rafts have all been destroyed, the waves were big and the wind was so heavy, it was like a tornado, all things were destroyed."

Rammasun is being considered the strongest typhoon to hit southern China in four decades.

The storm, which made landfall in southern China on Friday, brought heavy gales and downpours to the provinces of Hainan, Guangdong and Guangxi.

The storm, which made landfall with winds of around 150-kilometers per hour, levelled over 50-thousand homes in Hainan.

Rammasun has now weakened to a tropical depression.

However, it's still bringing heavy rains into parts of southern China.