13 dead, 16 missing as super Typhoon Lekima batters China

At least 13 people were killed and 16 others went missing as super Typhoon Lekima battered the eastern coastal region of China on Saturday morning, the state-run CGTN network reported.

The typhoon brought torrential rain and heavy winds that knocked out power, downed thousands of trees and forced more than one million people out from their homes.

The National Meteorological Center earlier in the day also issued an orange alert before the typhoon made landfall.

The Center told Xinhua news agency that Typhoon Lekima, the ninth typhoon of the year, made landfall in the city of Wenling in Zhejiang around 1:45 a.m. (local time) with a maximum wind force of 187 kilometers per hour.

The typhoon is expected to move further north at a speed of about 15 km/h, with gradually weakening force, the center said, adding that it will sweep through Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces before making another landfall in the southern coastal areas of the Shandong Peninsula on late Sunday.

The center also warned against strong winds in places, including Taiwan, Fujian, Zhejiang, Shanghai, and Jiangsu.

More than one million people had been relocated before the Typhoon made landfall here today.

-ANI