国内英语新闻:No casualties reported in Typhoon Merbok

GUANGZHOU, June 14 (Xinhua) -- No casualties have been reported in south China's Guangdong Province after it was lashed by Typhoon Merbok, the local government said Wednesday.

However, heavy rain has destroyed 32 houses, flooded 13,000 hectares of farmland and forced 12,000 residents to be evacuated, according to provincial civil affairs authorities.

About 122,000 people have reported property damage. The province's direct economic loss from the typhoon amounted to 260 million yuan (38 million U.S. dollars).

Typhoon Merbok, the second typhoon of the year, made landfall in Shenzhen Monday night and has quickly weakened as it moved further north towards the province of Jiangxi. Both provinces experienced heavy rainfall.