Southern China, Taiwan clean up from typhoon

Rescuers carry the body of a mudslide victim in Taiwan Wednesday

In this story: Moderate rainfall expected Bilis devastates Taiwan Widespread flooding RELATED STORIES, SITES

BEIJING (CNN) -- As Bilis became a rainy memory, residents of southern China and Taiwan cleaned up the debris left behind by Asia's strongest typhoon of the year.

Workers in southern China on Thursday were removing trees and signboards that had been uprooted by Typhoon Bilis' strong winds, and rescuers in Taiwan continued searching for those who went missing when the storm crossed the island.

Bilis devastated Taiwan on Tuesday and Wednesday, claiming 11 lives, injuring at least 80 others, trapping 18 in mudslides and leaving 10 people missing.

There were no storm-related causalities reported in China. Bilis caused mudslides and widespread flooding in both countries, and a mudslide damaged sections of a railway in southern China.

AUDIO Journalist Jason Blatt reports from Taipei on the victims of typhoon Bilis 872K/40 sec. AIFF or WAV sound    VIDEO CNN's Mike Chinoy shows the storm Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Watch video of the storm Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Mike Chinoy describes the damage caused by Typhoon Bilis in Taiwan Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)    WEATHER FORECAST Beijing, China Taipei, Taiwan     GRAPHIC See map of typhoon's path     MESSAGE BOARD Nature's wrath

Municipal workers in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, began clearing debris on Wednesday.

Moderate rainfall expected

Bilis -- which weakened on Wednesday as it began to cross China's Fujian province -- was expected to drop moderate rain on southern China, Taiwan and Hong Kong until Friday, said CNN weather forecaster Lila Feng.

The rain was expected to move north across mainland China, she said.

Bilis, which had been downgraded from a super typhoon after crossing Taiwan, slammed China's Fujian province on Wednesday morning, after lashing Taiwan.

A storm is considered a typhoon when its winds reach 120 kilometers (75 miles) per hour, and a storm is classed as a super typhoon if its winds reach 240 kilometers (148 miles) per hour.

Bilis hit China's mainland with gusty winds that reached 230 kilometers (143 miles) per hour and heavy rains that flooded farmland in Pujiang, a city in southeastern China.

Beijing Youth Daily, a state-run newspaper, reported on Thursday that 282 buildings collapsed and electricity was disrupted in 40 villages in southeastern China.

Four villages near Yueqing city, in China's Zhejiang province, were hit by a tornado that injured 11 people, destroyed more than 20 buildings and damaged 130 other buildings, the newspaper reported.

Bilis devastates Taiwan

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Bilis, then a super typhoon, ravaged Taiwan.

"This is one of the worst typhoons to directly affect Taiwan in many years, but I think everyone has paid a lot of attention to it, and the disaster was lighter than we expected," Taiwan Premier Tang Fei said.

Rescuers were searching for the missing, and trying to retrieve those trapped in the mudslides. Taiwanese Vice President Annette Lu promised the victims would receive quick assistance.

"We have to share this burden together. We must carry out relief work as quickly as possible," she said.

However, officials did not hold out much hope for those trapped under the mud.

"We are not optimistic about the situation," said Chang Poh-ya, Taiwan's Interior minister.

Widespread flooding

Taiwanese officials said the storm caused approximately $48 million in agricultural damage, and had cut power to approximately 500,000 homes.

Journalists reported that the typhoon's winds, which reached 260 kilometers (161 miles) an hour, also shook concrete buildings.

The storm caused about 250 houses to collapse, and widespread flooding transformed many of Taiwan's roads into lakes, and swept away farm animals.

Many streets were littered with felled trees and damaged vehicles. Officials closed ports, banks, schools and government offices.

Despite its earlier strength, Bilis caused less damage than Super Typhoon Tim that devastated Taiwan in 1996, killing 17 people and injuring 60 others. After that storm, Taiwan's authorities set up a task force to ensure they were better prepared for future storms.

Bilis was the second powerful typhoon to hit Taiwan this summer. Last month, Typhoon Kai Tak killed one person and injured five others when it crossed Taiwan.

CNN Beijing Bureau Chief Rebecca MacKinnon, CNN Correspondent Mike Chinoy, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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