At least two people have been killed and thousands forced to evacuate by floods brought by from the remnants of Typhoon Haikui in China’s southeastern coastal Fujian province.
Schools were closed and flights suspended, while more than 30,000 people were moved to safety. Two firefighters died and one police officer is missing after floodwaters carried away a fire engine on a rescue mission, the Fuzhou fire department posted on social media accounts.
Haikui swept across Taiwan as a typhoon earlier in the week, injuring dozens and leaving thousands of people without power. It weakened to a tropical storm when it made landfall in Fujian, but continued to bring record-breaking levels of rainfall.
The worst-affected area lies between the coast and inland mountains and is particularly prone to flooding, leading many over the decades to to migrate to other parts of China or move overseas.
Authorities closed schools, suspended flights, stopped trains and buses, and dispatched dozens of emergency vehicles on rescue missions. Economic losses are estimated to total over $US75 million ($A118 million), according to Chinese state media.
Parts of Fujian saw rainfall exceeding 30cm, breaking records across the province.
In the provincial centre of Fuzhou, 50,000 people have been affected, among which more than 36,000 have been moved to shelters, state media reported.
Putian and Quanzhou were among six cities in Fujian flagged as being at risk of flash floods and landslides.
The rains are expected to last until Friday in central and southern parts of the province, where Typhoon Haikui hit land early on Tuesday.
Over the summer, China has experienced some of its heaviest rains and deadliest flooding in recent years. Dozens of people have been killed, including in outlying mountainous parts of the capital, Beijing.
with Reuters
