Waves crash on the coast of Sansha town as Typhoon Gaemi approaches, in Ningde, Fujian province, China. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters
“Eleven people were killed after a mudslide hit a house in south-eastern China on July 28 as heavy rains from what remained of a tropical storm drenched the region,” state media said.
Elsewhere in China, a delivery person on a scooter was killed on July 27 after being hit by a falling tree in Shanghai, apparently because of storm-related winds, according to The Paper, a digital news outlet.
These deaths were the first in China that appeared to be linked to typhoon Gaemi, which weakened owing to a tropical storm that made landfall on July 25. “Before reaching China, the typhoon intensified the monsoon rains in the Philippines, leaving at least 34 dead, and swept across the island of Taiwan, where the death toll has risen to 10,” authorities said late July 27.
“The mudslide struck the house at about 8 a.m. in Yuelin village, which falls under the jurisdiction of Hengyang city in Hunan province,” state broadcaster CCTV said in a series of online reports.
An earlier report said 18 people were trapped by the mudslide and six injured people had been rescued. It wasn’t clear in the latest report if one other person remained missing. The reports didn’t say who was staying in the house that was rented for temporary stays. There was no information on whether the injuries were serious.
The reports said the mudslide was triggered by water rushing down the mountains from heavy rains. They didn’t mention Gaemi, but the China Meteorological Administration said that rain tied to the tropical storm hit south-eastern parts of Hunan province on July 27.
In Shanghai, a photo posted by The Paper showed a delivery scooter on its side mostly covered by leafy branches near the still-standing barren trunk of a tree. It said that winds from the storm were the suspected cause and that the investigation was ongoing.
The wide arc of the tropical storm also was bringing heavy rain about 2,000 km (1,200 miles) away to Liaoning province in China’s North-East.
Hundreds of chemical and mining companies suspended operations from July 27 as a precautionary measure and more than 30,000 people had been evacuated, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Nearly 40 trains were suspended on Thursday for safety reasons after steady rain in recent days created hazards and damaged tracks.
“Two more people were reported dead in Taiwan, raising the death toll to 10,” the island’s Central News Agency said, quoting the emergency operation centre. Two others were missing, and 895 people were injured.
The latest victims were a man found in a drainage ditch and another man who died in a car accident. More than 800 people remained in shelters in Taiwan as of Saturday night, and more than 5,000 households were without power.
The typhoon caused nearly 1.7 billion New Taiwan dollars ($51.8 million) in damage to crops including bananas, guavas and pears; chicken and other livestock farming and oyster and other fisheries, the Central News Agency said, citing figures from the Ministry of Agriculture.
