BEIJING: The strongest typhoon to hit China’s southern tropical island of Hainan since 1973 swamped two villages on Monday after forcing the evacuation of thousands.

There were no immediate reports of casualties but the storm was moving westward and would sweep the whole of Hainan island throughout the day, officials said. Experts warned that rice, rubber and banana crops could suffer major damage.

The 18th typhoon of the year to threaten China hit land before dawn north of Wanning city in the east of the island often referred to as China’s Hawaii, the official Xinhua news agency quoted Hainan meteorological officials as saying.

Typhoon Damrey was packing winds of 200 km (125 miles) per hour, Xinhua said, making it comparable to Hurricane Rita, which slammed into the Texas-Louisiana coast on Saturday, causing flooding but largely sparing the U.S. region’s refineries.—Reuters