SHANGHAI, China - A typhoon brushed past China's east coast, killing at least 10 people, sinking a cargo boat and forcing thousands of people from their homes, officials said Thursday.
Shanghai's two international airports were temporarily closed as Prapiroon swept through Wednesday night, according to state media. City officials refused to comment on the storm's impact.
The Shanghai Meteorological Bureau reported that Prapiroon's winds gusted up to 79 mph late Wednesday.
The worst-hit area appeared to be Xiangshui county in coastal Jiangsu province, 300 miles north of Shanghai. Five people were killed late Wednesday by collapsing houses, according to an official of the regional Civil Affairs Bureau who gave only his surname, Peng. Some 185 people were injured.
A tornado was reported in Xiangshui and river dikes collapsed in four villages, flooding 230,000 acres of farmland, Peng said. He said 13,800 people were evacuated from low-lying areas.
On Zhoushan island, off the coast of Zhejiang province southeast of Shanghai, five people were killed by falling walls and trees, according to an island official.
Some 10,000 people were evacuated after high seas poured over dikes and flooded three districts - Putuo, Daishan and Dinghai - said the official, who gave his name only as Mr. Gu.
In Shanghai, about 3,000 people were evacuated from Chongming Island, a section of the port city that lies in the mouth of the Yangtze River, according to state media.
An overloaded cargo boat sank Wednesday in rough seas off Shanghai but its three crew members were rescued, newspapers said.
Some 800 ships were temporarily confined to the city's harbor Wednesday night. Departures by coastal ferries were delayed, and 28 flights were canceled at Shanghai airports.
Flooded farmland and collapsed houses were reported around Lianyungang, 500 miles north of Shanghai in Jiangsu province.
Prapiroon, whose name is Thai for ''God of Rain,'' was expected to head north Thursday and turn east across the Korean peninsula.
