Beijing, Oct 1 (IANS): At least 470,000 people have been evacuated as typhoon Nesat wrecked havoc in southern China's Hainan and Guangxi provinces, Xinhua reported.

On Friday, the storm hit the Guangxi province, a day after making landfall in Hainan, where it caused an economic loss of nearly 6 billion yuan (about $900 million).

In Guangxi, over 20,000 people were evacuated and more than 500 houses collapsed. Economic losses are estimated at over 200 million yuan (about $31 million).

In Hainan, where the impact was severe, more than 450,000 people were evacuated and over 1,300 houses collapsed. About 165,000 hectares of farmland were flooded, said Xu Guoming, deputy director of the provincial disaster relief office.

Seaside scenic spots in Guangxi have been closed and classes at the primary and middle schools have also been suspended.

The finance and civil affairs ministries have allocated 35 million yuan for disaster relief.