The death toll from a mudslide in eastern China rose to three Sunday after days of heavy rain associated with Typhoon Saudel, the Associated Press reported. Nine people remained missing in Suichuan County in Jiangxi province. The slide struck part of a village early Saturday and damaged about a dozen houses, leaving rescuers searching through collapsed structures.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that two victims were found Sunday. More than 5,300 people had been relocated to safer places, a precaution intended to reduce exposure to additional slides and flooding. The reported figures describe a continuing rescue response and can change as search teams reach damaged buildings and local authorities consolidate reports.
Separate storm-related deaths were reported in Hunan province, where CCTV said two people died after downpours triggered landslides and other disasters. The report did not specify the precise causes of those deaths. Earlier accounts from Fujian described collapsed houses, a breached dike, flooded villages and large evacuations as the storm moved inland.
Saudel made two landfalls in Zhejiang province on August 28 and a third landfall as a tropical storm in Fujian on September 3, according to the official Xinhua news agency as relayed by AP. Zhejiang and Fujian neighbor Jiangxi, placing the Suichuan slide within a wider corridor of prolonged rainfall rather than an isolated local storm.
The current casualty and relocation totals are based largely on Chinese official and state-media reports carried by AP. Independent access to every affected site is limited, and the nine missing people had not been located by the edition deadline. Search operations, river levels, slope stability and any new evacuation orders will determine how the recorded impact develops.