The storm was still battering southern Guangxi autonomous region but was slowly blowing itself out, meteorological officials said.

At least two people were killed in Guangxi and four in Guangdong province as Imbudo carved a trail of destruction, local officials and state press said.

Thousands of livestock also died.

In separate freak weather, nine people were killed and 11 injured when a powerful hailstorm pounded northwest Gansu province on Tuesday, the Xinhua news agency said.

More than 1,000 dwellings collapsed in the region, said the agency.

Many cities in Guangdong and on Hainan island were flooded by Imbudo while dykes, reservoirs and houses were destroyed.

In Yangjiang city, one of the worst affected areas in coastal Guangdong, 1,479 houses collapsed, another 6,170 were damaged and one person was listed as missing, an official surnamed Cai from the city's flood, wind and drought headquarters said.

"Hundreds of trees have been blown over, road signs and advertising hoardings have been toppled. It's a mess. Teams of people are clearing up," he told AFP, adding that thousands of people made homeless were being put up in local schools.

"We are trying our hardest to get things back to normal. The wind has eased and the sun has come out. It looks like it is over," he said.

Yangjiang Hospital said eight people remained in a serious but stable condition after being injured in high winds.

The China Daily said at least three people died in Luoding city while another perished in the coastal city of Enping.

Maoming city was also badly hit with preliminary statistics showing 630,000 people had been affected in 111 townships. More than 600 houses were toppled and countless thousands of hectares of crops were wiped out.

One official put the economic losses in the city at 300 million yuanmillion US).

In Zhanjiang city, the director of the flood, wind and drought office, surnamed Yin, said the storm caused 150 million yuan in economic losses.

"Around 2,000 houses were destroyed. One million people have been affected. It also destroyed a lot of crops," he told AFP.

The tourist playground of Hainan island also felt the force of the worst typhoon to hit the region in years.

Local officials said the north part of the province was seriously hit, especially the capital city Haikou and nearby Wenshan.

"Casualties and economic losses are still being gathered. We have sent a lot of officials to the cities, counties and townships to gather information," said one local government officer.

"Houses have definitely collapsed. Torrential rain in Haikou caused flooding in the downtown area. The government is organising the draining of the water now."

According to the China News Service, 70 flights from Haikou airport were delayed, stranding 6,000 passengers, although operations have since resumed.

In Guangxi, which is still being whipped by Imbudo, two people died and the toll is expected to rise.

"There are two dead. We expect casualties to rise. There are also a number of injured people but we don't have the precise details yet," said an official in civil affairs department of Yulin city.

Imbudo left at least 21 dead when it passed over the Philippines.

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