12 killed as China hit by strongest typhoon of year

Beijing: At least 12 people were killed as typhoon Hato, the strongest this year, lashed southern China, the media reported.

Eight people were killed in Macau on Wednesday, reports CNN.

Among the victims were a 62-year-old man who died in a fall, a 45-year-old man who was hit and killed by a car and a 30-year-old man who was trapped under a wall.

Meanwhile in China’s Guangdong province, four people have been reported dead.

The storm made landfall on Wednesday morning and caused widespread power outages throughout Macau, according to local media.

In a statement on Thursday, a Macau government spokesman said it was the strongest storm to hit the city in 53 years.

“(The storm) had a severe impact across the city,” the statement read.

Photos and videos posted on social media during the storm showed surging waves, collapsed scaffolding and flash flooding across the island.

The Macau government said it was still working to restore water and electricity supplies to the city .

Hato initially was a mid-level tropical storm but quickly strengthened into a typhoon.

In Hong Kong, the city’s weather service, declared a Signal 10 Tropical Cyclone Warning the highest alert level.

According to the Hong Kong government, almost 700 reports of fallen trees were made across the city, while over 100 people were injured.

Some 480 flights were cancelled.