Tropical storm Parma affects 1.63 mln people in island province

Tropical storm Parma has affected about 1.63 million people in the southernmost province of Hainan and caused heavy economic losses since it landed Monday, the provincial emergency response office said Tuesday.

Three people were killed and one was missing in the storm. A total of 36,294 people were relocated. Ninety-three houses collapsed and 228 were damaged. More than 45,000 hectares of farmland and about 1.63 million people in 158 towns in 15 cities and counties were affected, a spokesman with the Hainan Provincial Emergency Response Office said.

The direct economic loss, mainly in the agriculture and fishing sectors, stood at 236.7 million yuan (34.7 million U.S dollars), he said.

Parma made a landfall in Wanning's Longgun Township at 9:50 a.m. Monday, packing winds of up to 54 km per hour. It left Hainan and moved into the Beibu Gulf more than 12 hours later.

The tropical storm brought strong winds and rain to most parts of the province, but these were expected to ease Wednesday, according to the Hainan Provincial Observatory.

Source: Xinhua