Typhoon Saudel has unleashed catastrophic flooding across southeastern China, prompting the evacuation of nearly 600,000 residents from vulnerable areas in Fujian province. The storm, which battered the regions of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, and Guangdong throughout last week, delivered unprecedented rainfall that triggered widespread infrastructure damage, landslides, and flash floods.
In the city of Putian, located in Fujian, meteorological stations recorded 416.5mm of rain within a 24-hour window between Thursday and Friday. Surrounding rural areas saw even more intense precipitation, exceeding 500mm in the same period. Beyond the mass evacuations in Fujian, an additional 128,000 people across 53 counties in Jiangxi province were affected, with emergency relocations impacting roughly 9,000 individuals.
The severity of the weather events led to several dangerous incidents. On Wednesday, more than 2,500 teachers and students were stranded within a school compound in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, after extreme rainfall caused flash floods in low-lying sections of the campus. Two days later, a river embankment collapsed in Putian, destroying 100 homes and necessitating the rescue of at least 1,260 people.
Tragedy struck on Saturday in Suichuan county, Jiangxi, where a landslip killed three people and left nine others missing. As authorities continue to assess the extensive damage, relief efforts remain focused on the hardest-hit communities in the region.
Leave a Reply