Have Chinese media covered up storm death toll?

Is China's media being allowed to tell the truth? That question has been raised by the sudden jump in casualty numbers following reports of the devastation wrought by the tropical storm in Hunan province 11 days ago. The state-controlled media initially announced that 228 people had been killed. But that was revised today in official announcements to 612, with a further 208 people said to missing. There are concerns that there may have been a cover-up in order to minimise the effects of the storm, codenamed Bilis. (Via abc.net.au)