Beijing, Aug 19: Typhoon Sepat swept China's southern coast early today, forcing almost a million people from their homes and spawning a tornado that smashed buildings and killed nine people.

The tornado wrecked 156 houses and injured more than 60 residents in China's Zhejiang Province, Xinhua state news agency reported.

Experts believe the tornado was formed under the influence of typhoon Sepat, Xinhua said.

More than 900,000 people in southern China have been relocated to higher ground after the typhoon cut power and flooded homes in parts of Taiwan and the Philippines yesterday.

Typhoon Sepat did not make landfall over the Philippines but exacerbated monsoon rains as it rumbled past the archipelago.

Disaster officials in the Philippines said three people drowned in flooding. Nearly 550,000 people were affected by floodwaters in Manila and the northern provinces, and over 3,500 people were sheltering in evacuation centres.

Parts of the capital and surrounding provinces remain under water.

Taiwan's disaster centre said on Sunday 27 people had been hurt in the typhoon. About 2,500 people were evacuated and nearly 9,000 homes were still without electricity.

Reuters>