Photo taken on July 14, 2006 shows a billow at a dam in Shitang Township of Wenling, a city in east China's Zhejiang Province. Strong winds and heavy rainfall caused by tropical storm Bilis hit the coastal regions of Zhejiang Province on July 14.(Xinhua Photo)Photo gallery

    BEIJING, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Rainstorms and floods caused by Typhoon Bilis have claimed 42 lives and left more than 100 missing after it landed in eastern China on Friday, government sources said Saturday.

    Central China's Hunan Province is the worst hit as 36 people were confirmed dead and more than 100 went missing as of 4 p.m. Saturday, said the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.

    Six people died and nine others were missing in South China's Guangdong Province, said the Guangdong headquarters of flood control at 5 p.m. Saturday.

    At least 14 people were killed and seven were missing as Typhoon Bilis swept Luzon region of the Philippines for three days before landing in China, according to Philippine disaster relief officials on Friday.

    Bilis also affected more than 2.4 million people in Fujian and Zhejiang Provinces in east China and caused huge economic losses. However, there were no reports of casualties in the two provinces.

    Chinese emergency workers on Saturday succeeded in rescuing all 11 crew from a sinking Russian vessel in storm-lashed seas off east China coasts.

    All the seamen were out of danger and being treated after more than 24 hours in the water at the People's Hospital of Yuhuan County in China's eastern Zhejiang Province.

    The typhoon entered Jiangxi Province, also in east China, before dawn on Saturday after hitting Fujian and Zhejiang.

    Local weather bureau in Taiwan lifted its warning for tropical storm Bilis on Saturday, but the public were advised to remain vigilant to heavy rains, according to media reports from Taipei.

    Forecasters said torrential downpour is expected in Taitung, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, the areas south of Miaoli and mountainous areas south of Chiayi.

    In Hunan another 349 people were injured and 40,000 people in the cities of Hengyang and Chenzhou were stranded by floods.

    Hunan Party Chief Zhang Chunxian and Governor Zhou Bohua asked rescuers to save people and reduce casualties at all costs. The two senior officials have rushed to flood-hit areas to coordinate rescue efforts.

    Hunan flood control headquarters have sent 140 vessels to search and rescue the trapped.

    Eight reservoirs in the province are in dangerous condition while the dam of one of the reservoirs could collapse at any time as the sluice is crammed by floating tree trunks and cannot open.

    Local meteorological departments said there will still be heavy rains or rainstorms in southern Hunan in the next few days.

    One hundred and fifty-five hydrological stations in Guangdong reported daily precipitations of more than 100 millimeters, with the maximum reaching 600 millimeters in Boluo county. Enditem