Death toll rises as typhoon rages across China

THE death toll from Typhoon Saomai — the strongest storm to hit China in 50 years — rose to 114 yesterday as more evacuees died when buildings used as shelters collapsed, authorities said.

While residents of China’s southeast coast cleared away the debris of their wrecked houses, rain fell inland as the weakened storm moved west.

Rescuers found eight more bodies in Fuding, a coastal city in Fujian province, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. It said 183 people were still missing.