The central government has offered financial support worth 30 million yuan (about 4.25 million US dollars) for relief work in Zhejiang Province after typhoon Lekima made landfall at the provincial coast early Saturday, the finance ministry said Saturday.

With a maximum wind force of 187 km/h, Typhoon Lekima, the ninth of the year, typhoon Lekima made landfall at about 1:45 a.m. Saturday in Wenling City. Yongjia County was the worst hit.

The typhoon has so far left 18 people found dead and 14 others missing, which all happened in Yongjia because of the burst of a barrier lake. The direct economic loss caused by Lekima in Zhejiang alone was placed at 7.44 billion yuan (about 108 billion US dollars).

Lekima is expected to move at about 15 km per hour northward and westward with abatement of wind. It reached Jiangsu Province Saturday night.

Information given by the Ministry of Emergency Management showed that 4.17 million people in Shanghai Municipality, Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces were adversely affected by the typhoon, and more than 1 million others were relocated because of typhoon Lekima.

Local governments were urged to use the central natural disaster relief fund to deal with emergencies and ensure the safety of local people and their property.