BEIJING, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Tropical storm Prapiroon left at least 18 people dead in southern China's Guangdong Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region after it slammed into the western coast of Guangdong Thursday evening and moved into Guangxi Friday morning.

According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, 17 people in Guangdong and one in Guangxi were confirmed dead by 4 p.m. on Friday while seven others missing.

The typhoon affected 6.05 million people and destroyed 46,000 houses in Guangdong, Guangxi and the southmost island province of Hainan.

Typhoon Prapiroon made landfall at the coastal area between Yangxi County and Dianbai County in western Guangdong at 7:20 p.m. Thursday. With a speed of 33 meters per second, the wind power reached 12 degrees on the Beaufort Scale near its eye.

By Friday morning, Prapiroon's wind speed had dropped from typhoon level to tropical storm after it swirled into the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, just west of Guangdong, early Thursday morning and dumped rain in areas it swept through.

The typhoon eye will move northwestward at 15 kilometers per hour and will lose strength gradually, according to the China Meteorological Administration.

The administration forecast that Prapiroon will bring stormy weather through Saturday across the coastal areas of Guangdong and Guangxi and some parts of Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan and Hainan provinces.

Authorities evacuated about 400,000 residents in low-lying areas of Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan before Prapiroon's landing.

Ferry services linking Hainan, China's southernmost island and a popular tourist destination, and the inland area were also suspended.

Meanwhile, 62,023 vessels from Guangdong, Hainan and Guangxi had returned to harbor.

Under strong wind and heavy rain brought by typhoon Prapiroon, more than 100 fishermen of Guangxi have been stranded by rough seas since Thursday evening.

Rescue efforts have been hampered due to strong wind and heavy rain brought by Prapiroon.

According to the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Regional Headquarters for Flood Control and Drought Relief, more than 40 fishing vessels carrying over 100 people stranded on rough seas several hundred to several thousand meters from the harbor of Beihai city as the berths were fully occupied.

Beihai city boasts more than 8,000 fishing boats, accounting for over 60 percent of the Guangxi's total.

All-out efforts will be tried to guarantee the safety of the lives of the stranded fishermen, Wen said.

Influenced by typhoon Prapiroon, it was raining heavily in Beihai city. The typhoon also brought wind measuring seven degrees on the Beaufort Scale to the city.

Local aquiculture authorities warned that if the wind grows into eight degrees, it will be more dangerous to those stranded on the sea.

Prapiroon, which means Rain God in Thai, formed in the South China Sea and strengthened into a typhoon on Wednesday noon.

It killed five people when it crossed the northern Philippines earlier in the week. Enditem