Typhoon damages crops in Guangdong

Typhoon Chaba has seriously affected agricultural production in Guangdong province, with vast areas under cultivation damaged, according to the local agricultural and rural affairs authorities.

As of Sunday, 56,600 hectares of planted land in the province had been affected, with another 1,733 hectares of area being severely damaged.

One area of more than 39,400 hectares of early-season rice was affected, according to the Guangdong Provincial Agriculture and Rural Affairs Department.

Two working groups were dispatched by the department to guide local farmers in cities of Jiangmen, Yangjiang, Zhanjiang and Maoming in resuming agricultural production after the typhoon.

Typhoon Chaba made landfall in western Guangdong on Saturday afternoon, unleashing heavy rain on the provinces of Hainan, Guangdong and Fujian, as well as the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Heavy rains also damaged the fresh fruit industry in Guangdong, whose peak season for picking lychee, longan and bananas is usually late June and early July.

Guangdong will continue to be hit by rain in the days ahead, according to the provincial meteorological authority. As of noon on Monday, 14 red alerts for torrential rains have been issued across the province.