SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Xinhuanet) -- The number of people dead or missing from Typhoon Maemi, which ripped through the southeastern part of South Korea late last week, rose to 121 as Monday evening, according to Central Anti-Disaster Headquarters (CADH).

　　Ninety-six were confirmed dead and 25 others still missing, and property damage from the devastating typhoon came to 1.39 trillion won (1.18 US billion), the headquarters said.

　　The typhoon damaged 1,033 roads, 31 bridges, 15,308 hectares of greenhouses and submerged 17,980 hectares of farmland. It also left 8,938 people homeless.

　　The 14th typhoon Maemi also hit the production of rice, onion, potato, and apple in the southern part of the country, which means the prices of agriculture products and fruits will increase sharply.

　　On Monday, villagers, civil servants and soldiers joined hands to clean up debris from the devastating typhoon. About 850 police and 3,600 soldiers armed with shovels helped clean up sludge from homes and streets.

　　The government is considering designate the whole typhoon affected areas as a special disaster zone, according to the Home Affairs Ministry on Monday.

　　Independent experts and government officials said the havoc caused by Maemi to South Korea's industrial infrastructure, the agricultural sector and logistics support could make the country's economy difficult to reach the 3 percent growth rate goal. Enditem