China reports 6 dead, 23 missing in typhoon-triggered landslides

Rescuers use heavy equipment to search for survivors following a landslide in Sucun village in eastern China’s Zhejiang Province Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016. Several dozen people were reported missing Thursday after rain-saturated hillsides collapsed onto villages in China following a typhoon. AP

BEIJING — Six people are reported dead and at least 23 people are still missing after two landslides triggered by a major typhoon swept through separate villages in southeastern China, state media reported.

The landslides Wednesday in Zhejiang province, south of Shanghai, are confirmed to have each killed three people, while rescue crews and sniffer dogs continued to search for survivors on Friday.

Authorities in the village of Sucun said late Thursday that more than 20 people are still missing. Video published by the official Xinhua News Agency showed fast flood waters carrying rocks and debris rushing down a mountain and into the hamlet.

“I heard a loud noise and rushed outside,” one villager, Zheng Quanwei, told Xinhua. “It was getting dark, but I could see some collapsed houses on the hillside.”

The official China Daily newspaper said the landslide hit Sucun at about 5:30 p.m. as villagers were sitting down to supper. Some rushed to help trapped neighbors while others hiked up the mountain seeking safety on higher, more solid ground.

About 20 homes were buried by the landslide, and more than 1,400 village residents had to be relocated.

Crews remain at work in Sucun and at the site of a separate landslide in Wencheng county, Xinhua reported.

Typhoon Megi brought torrential rain and strong winds into parts of southeastern China and Taiwan, destroying hundreds of houses and shutting down airports and railways. Five people died in falls and other accidents as the storm passed.

Megi caused more than $10 million in damage as it swept through Taiwan before weakening into a tropical storm after hitting the coastal city of Quanzhou in China’s Fujian province early Wednesday, with winds that reached 118 kilometers (74 miles) per hour.

Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported Thursday that three people were found dead in their home after a mudslide in Kaohsiung county in southern Taiwan. All three were found in a room on the first floor of their home, which was engulfed in rocks and mud, the agency reported./rga

READ: Massive typhoon hits eastern China, Taiwan, killing 5