Rescue and recovery efforts remained in full swing after Typhoon Saudel, the 18th typhoon of the year, triggered severe mudslides and floods across eastern and southern China. In Jiangxi province, a mudslide struck Mingkeng village in Suichuan county around 4 am on Saturday, killing three people and leaving nine missing by Sunday evening, according to China Daily.
Typhoon Saudel Triggers Deadly Mudslides and Floods in Eastern China
A preliminary inspection indicated that 12 houses were damaged, including eight that were completely destroyed, said Hu Wenfeng, deputy head of Suichuan county, during a Saturday night news briefing. By 10 pm on Saturday, 641 rescuers had arrived at the disaster site to conduct search and rescue operations and evacuate 39 residents to safety. Hu noted that road access and communication were largely reestablished, with local authorities ensuring residents had access to water, electricity, food, and accommodation. However, multiple landslides initially blocked roads leading from the Suichuan county seat to Mingkeng village, hampering rescue teams before an emergency access route was reopened around 2 am on Sunday.
A fourth fatality was later confirmed in Suichuan’s Yangfen village due to landslides, with one person still missing. According to Jiangxi’s emergency management authorities, the typhoon had affected 250,300 people across 10 cities and 62 county-level areas by Sunday afternoon, causing direct economic losses of 452 million yuan ($67.3 million). A total of 8,350 people were evacuated as a precaution, and another 14,600 were relocated and resettled. The National Commission for Disaster Reduction and the Ministry of Emergency Management maintained a Level IV emergency response for natural disaster relief in Jiangxi, while the Ministry of Natural Resources kept a Level III response active for geological disasters.
Impact Across Neighboring Provinces
The storm’s heavy downpours also struck neighboring provinces. In Hunan province, prolonged rainfall triggered landslides and mudslides across several townships in Guidong county, Chenzhou, leaving two people dead and one injured, according to reports from Associated Press. Heavy rain in Guidong broke historical records at eight monitoring stations, with one station recording a cumulative rainfall of 925.3 millimeters, surpassing previous provincial records for a single rainfall event.
Fujian province faced exceptionally heavy rain after Saudel made its third landfall as a tropical storm in Zhangpu county on Thursday morning, following previous landfalls in Zhejiang province on August 28. In Fujian’s Huating Town, located in Putian city, more than 100 houses collapsed, and a breached dike on Thursday afternoon flooded villages and trapped residents. About 600,000 residents were evacuated from risky offshore and onshore areas by Friday night. State broadcaster footage showed streets converted into rivers while rescuers deployed inflatable boats.
According to the Fujian meteorological administration, daily rainfall totals in several areas broke historical records. Donghai township in Chengxiang district, Putian, recorded a maximum cumulative rainfall of 1,480.3 millimeters during the event. Wu Qishu, chief forecaster of the Fujian meteorological administration, described the overall intensity as unprecedented, noting it was the highest recorded since 1961. Wu attributed the extreme rainfall to a combination of factors, including multiple weather systems, sustained moisture transport, overlapping torrential rain areas, coastal terrain influences, and rain bands passing in a “train-like” pattern.
