MUDSLIDE KILLS THREE IN EASTERN CHINA AFTER TROPICAL CYCLONE SAUDEL

A mudslide in Suichuan County, Jiangxi province, killed three people and left nine missing early Saturday, according to state media reports. The mudslide struck part of a village following days of torrential rain brought by tropical cyclone Saudel. Rescuers located two of the three bodies on Sunday, state broadcaster CCTV reported. Authorities relocated residents from the affected area to safer ground, and a dozen houses were damaged in the incident.

Cyclone Saudel made two landfalls in Zhejiang Province on 28 August and a third landfall as a tropical storm in Fujian Province on Thursday, according to Chinese official news agency Xinhua. In Hunan province, south-central China, two people were killed following heavy downpours associated with the cyclone, though the precise cause of death was not specified. In Fujian Province, multiple residents were left unaccounted for after sustained rainfall, with more than 100 houses collapsed in Huating Town, Putian city. A dike overtopped and breached on Thursday afternoon, flooding villages and trapping residents.

Across China, over 5,300 people were relocated to safer locations as of the latest reports. In Fujian alone, approximately 600,000 residents were evacuated from risky offshore and onshore areas as of Friday night, according to Xinhua. Separately, China confirmed that 43 people were dead and 519 still missing following flash floods in Nepal and Tibet over the previous week.