CCTV9英语新闻：台风肆虐广东（在线收听）

Typhoon Rammasun, the strongest typhoon to hit China’s southern region in decades, has wreaked havoc in Guandong Province, causing a great deal of damage.

When the typhoon finally left Guangdong, it was clean up time for local residents and armed forces from Zhanjiang’s Frontier Inspection Station.

"We will patrol the entire area and respond to any reports on casualties, and if debris has blocked the streets, we will help to clear it up," Zhangjiang Frontier Inspection Station soldier Wu Guoqiang said.

As normalcy returned to the city of Zhangjiang, many took stock of the damage, as financial losses totaled into the millions. Four-hundred-and-fifty-thousand people were left devastated, and the local government evacuated 20,000 to higher ground. Rammasun ranked at level 17 for a typhoon, a force not seen by local residents in years.

"I only saw a similarly strong typhoon in 1996, of level 16," a resident said.

"Compared with the last time or the one in 1996, then we were blown off ground when we walked on the street, but this time it occurred at night around nine, and it was a scary experience," a resident said.

China’s meteorological authority on Saturday maintained a top-level red alert for Rammasun, as downpours and gales continued to sweep the southern coastal provinces.