At least six people died and 33 went missing after a major typhoon triggered two landslides in villages in southeastern China on Wednesday. Search for survivors is still being carried out on Friday.
In Sucun village, at least 27 people were missing on Thursday. The landslide hit the village around 5.30 pm, China Daily newspaper reported. Many people managed to escape to higher ground.
"I heard a loud noise and rushed outside," one villager, Zheng Quanwei, told Xinhua. "It was getting dark, but I could see some collapsed houses on the hillside."
Typhoon Megi also killed four people in Taiwan and injured 625 before it hit mainland China. It destroyed hundreds of homes and had briefly shut airports and railways.
Almost 1,500 villagers were relocated after Typhoon Megi hit Zhejiang province. Almost 20 homes got buried in debris.
Rescue teams are working in Sucun and in Wencheng county, Xinhua reported. More than 1,000 people are involved in search and rescue operations. In Fujian, hundreds of houses were left without power. Fujian received almost 300 mm of rainfall flooding the area.
Xinhua said more than 120,000 people who work close to shore or at sea have been moved by Fujian authorities. The province's 31,700 fishing boats have been recalled to port to avoid the high winds.
The typhoon has caused financial damage of more than $10 million. It was travelling at 118 kilometers (74 miles) per hour when it hit China.
Critics say local governments, especially in the frequently-hit coastal provinces in China's east, misallocate funding or fail to spend enough on defences against floods and other problems caused by heavy rain.
(With Reuters inputs)
