The death toll from a powerful typhoon that hit south-eastern China rose to 33 on Sunday as rescue workers used rubber dinghies to evacuate stranded people while swift currents swept by homes.

China’s emergency broadcasting network said 16 people were still missing in Zhejiang province, where 32 died.

It reported one more death in the neighbouring Anhui province.

China Typhoon
Rescuers search for victims of a landslp triggered by Typhoon Lekima (Chinatopix/AP)

Typhoon Lekima triggered a landslip and floods after making landfall in Zhejiang, about 190 miles south of Shanghai, on Saturday.

Most of the victims were in a village in Yongjia county, where a landslip blocked a river that then poured into the small town, killing 23 people. Nine others were unaccounted for.

Footage on state broadcaster CCTV showed buildings had been smashed by the raging waters and workers using backhoes to clean up the debris.

To the north, parts of the city of Linhai remained flooded on Sunday, with water reaching up to the top of the first floor of buildings, leaving only treetops sticking out.

CCTV showed people being rescued with life vests and boats in nearby Xianju county.

Lekima, which has been downgraded to a tropical storm, is expected to dump heavy rain on China’s north-east in the coming days as it moves up the Pacific coast.

It forced the closure of Shanghai Disneyland on Saturday.