Typhoon Saudel floods southern China as more torrential rain looms

Southern Chinese provinces were bracing for more torrential rain on Friday after Typhoon Saudel triggered severe flooding, swamping vehicles, collapsing at least one building and forcing mass evacuations.

Thousands evacuated

Saudel made its third landfall along the Fujian coast on Thursday morning after re-intensifying over the South China Sea. It is the seventh typhoon to strike China this year.

The damage was particularly severe in Putian, where the Mulan River runs through the city centre. Floodwaters spilled across major highways, damaged bridge infrastructure and inundated residential buildings, according to videos circulating on China's RedNote platform.

State broadcaster CCTV reported that rescue teams were working to evacuate residents trapped by the flooding and that some people remained unaccounted for.

Authorities across the affected coastal areas have closed schools, suspended public transport and activated emergency flood protocols.

More than 83,000 residents have been evacuated in Fujian alone, as part of a broader relocation effort that has moved hundreds of thousands of people across Zhejiang and neighbouring provinces since late August as the storm system tracked inland.

Back-to-back storms batter southern China

Saudel follows closely behind Typhoon Narra, which dumped heavy rain across Guangxi, Hainan and Guangdong in late August, leaving parts of southern China facing two major storms within weeks.

China's Ministry of Natural Resources has warned that the combined rainfall has pushed rivers above warning thresholds in several areas, raising the risk of landslides and other secondary disasters in addition to the direct flood damage.

More rain could worsen damage

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The back-to-back storms reflect a pattern authorities and meteorologists have flagged this year: unusually active typhoon activity along China's southeastern coast, which some have linked to shifting storm tracks under current El Niño conditions.

Whether Saudel proves as destructive as past storms to hit the same stretch of coast - including Typhoon Soudelor in 2015, which killed dozens across Fujian and Taiwan, or Typhoon Haikui in 2023, which caused record flooding in Fuzhou - will likely depend on how much additional rain falls over the next few days.

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