Willie Belts Hainan Island

The most savage typhoon to batter China’s Hainan Island in a decade left at least 38 people dead and 96 missing, the official China Daily reported today.

Typhoon Willie dumped more than 15 inches of rain on some parts of the island, which is a province off the southern Chinese mainland, over the weekend, according to the newspaper.

Rescue teams continued to evacuate residents of villages along swollen rivers on Monday.

Around Qiongshan city, the Niandu River swamped 95,000 acres of farm land, China Daily said. Flood waters and fierce winds caused 680 houses to collapse.

Willie lost its punch as it moved from the island to neighboring Guangdong on the mainland, the newspaper reported.