Typhoon Talim kills 10 in eastern China

Torrential rains and flooding from Typhoon Talim killed at least 10 people and left 15 missing in eastern China, the government said today.

The deaths occurred in Fujian province on China’s south-eastern coast, the official Xinhua News Agency said without giving any details.

It said Talim caused more than £200m (€293m) in damage.

In neighbouring Zhejiang province, storm-damaged roads were hampering rescue efforts, said an official with the Flood Control and Drought Relief Office in the coastal city of Wenzhou.

Floodwaters and heavy flows of mud and rock also caused the collapse of more than 300 homes in the mountainous Cangnan area, just south of Wenzhou, the official said. He said he had no information on injuries or economic losses from the collapses.

Talim was downgraded late last night to a tropical storm and weakened further today as it passed further inland into Jiangxi province.

In Zhejiang and neighbouring Fujian provinces, the storm prompted the evacuation of almost 1 million people from low-lying coastal areas and mountain villages that are vulnerable to flash floods.

By noon today, Talim was centred about 465 miles south-west of the commercial hub of Shanghai and moving inland at about 12 miles per hour, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.

However, heavy rains continued to fall on Zhejiang and coastal Fujian, where the storm landed yesterday afternoon.

In a notice posted on its website, Fujian’s provincial weather bureau warned of heavy rains and urged local authorities to guard against flooding and landslides.

Flooding cut power in the provincial capital of Fuzhou and forced the cancellation of school classes. Highway travel was disrupted and some flights cancelled.

In Taiwan, Talim’s heavy rain and winds were blamed for the drowning deaths of two men and injuries to 24 others yesterday.

Schools, offices markets and financial markets on the island reopened today after being closed yesterday. Train services and flights were also restored.