A TV presenter struggles against wind-driven waves as he reports the progress of Typhoon Wipha from a levee near China’s largest business hub of Shanghai on September 19.

Wipha, the most destructive typhoon to hit China in a decade, had claimed five lives on the Chinese mainland by 6 p.m. on September 19, said the Ministry of Civil Affairs, adding that three people were still

missing.

Strong storms also destroyed more than 9,600 houses and damaged 42,000 others, causing losses initially estimated at 6.62 billion yuan (nearly $883 million).

A total of 2.67 million people were relocated before Wipha swept Shanghai and three east China’s provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian and Jiangsu.