Typhoon Saomai kills 83 in China

China’s death toll from Typhoon Saomai rose to at least 104 today, with another 190 missing, as the most powerful storm to strike the country in five decades weakened into a tropical depression.

Authorities evacuated more than 1.5 million people from flood-prone areas before the storm made landfall in Zhejiang province yesterday evening, wrecking houses and capsizing ships. Damage was expected to be widespread in areas that were still recovering from Tropical Storm Bilis, which killed more than 600 people last month.