Two villages are inundated in Hainan as Damrey, No. 18 typhoon of the year, hit South China at 4:00 in the morning Monday. (Xinhua photo)

HAIKOU, Sept. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Damrey, No. 18 typhoon of the year, hit South China at 4:00 in the morning Monday, which is the strongest since 1974.

    The Hainan Pronvincial Meteorological Station said Damrey landed on the north of Wanning City in eastern part of China's southernmost island province of Hainan.

    The typhoon, with the wind speed of 55 meters per second at the center, dwarfed all those that had hit Hainan since 1960, except for Typhoon No. 7314, which hit the province on Sept. 13, 1973, said Cai Qinbo, deputy director of the Hainan Provincial Meteorological Station.

    The typhoon kept moving westward and would sweep the whole island in the coming hours, added Cai.

    

67 flights in and out of Haikou Meilan Airport are canclled due to typhoon Damrey. (Xinhua photo)

    Experts said rainstorms with the typhoon will also hit the island and Damrey might incur huge losses to the harvest of rice, rubber and bananas. Enditem