Typhoon Kaemi kills 32 in China, 60 still missing
CHINA: The death toll from rainstorms triggered by Typhoon
Kaemi has risen to 32 in China's south and east, state media said on
Friday. More than 60 are missing.
Kaemi weakened to a tropical depression shortly after landing on
China's southeastern coast on Tuesday, but the heavy rains it brought
soaked five provinces, affecting 6 million people and forcing the
evacuation of 1.3 million, state television said.
The hardest hit is the eastern province of Jiangxi, where six were
killed when flash floods along a mountainside swept away a military
barracks in the early hours of Wednesday. Another 38 officers, soldiers
and family members are still missing.
nA further 17 villagers died and 15 went missing in floods and
landslides in Jiangxi's mountainous south, where rivers overflowed and
thousands of houses collapsed, Xinhua news agency said. Power,
communications and roads were also disrupted.
The rain is expected to stop in the area on Saturday, but it will be
followed by a three-day heatwave, prompting officials to warn against
possible epidemics, Xinhua added.
Five people, including two young girls, were also killed by floods
and landslides in the neighbouring southern province of Guangdong,
Xinhua said. Three were missing in Fujian province, where Kaemi made its
China landfall.
In the central province of Hunan, streets in the city of Chenzhou
were flooded and at least three people were reported missing on
Thursday.
The four provinces are still reeling from damage caused by Tropical
Storm Bilis, which has killed 612 since it struck China on July 14 with
days of downpours.
Tropical storms and typhoons frequently strike Taiwan, Japan, the
Philippines and southern China during a season that lasts from early
summer to late autumn.
But China's storms have been particularly deadly this year, claiming
more than 1,000 lives, Xinhua said.
Beijing, Friday, Reuters |