More than 220 people have died in two separate floods in China.

Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated after a powerful typhoon thundered into southern China shutting down the financial centre of Hong Kong and sinking a cargo ship.

At least one man was killed and 45 fishermen were missing after a powerful typhoon battered the northern Philippines, toppling power lines and dumping heavy rain across mountains, cities and the food-growing plain.

Typhoon Utor lashed the central and eastern Philippines today, killing four people, including two toddlers, and forcing more than 90,000 people to flee to evacuation centres, officials said.

The death toll in China from Typhoon Utor has risen to 23 as hundreds of thousands of people battle against floods.