11 dead in landslide in China, rains from Gaemi drench region

Eleven people were killed on Sunday when a landslide hit a house in southeast China while heavy rains from the remnants of a tropical storm drenched the region, state media reported.

Elsewhere in China, a delivery driver riding a scooter in Shanghai was killed on Saturday after being hit by a falling tree, apparently due to storm-induced winds, digital news portal The Paper reported.

The deaths were the first in China apparently linked to Typhoon Gaemi, which weakened to a tropical storm after making landfall on Thursday. Before reaching mainland China, the typhoon intensified monsoon rains in the Philippines, where it killed at least 34 people, and swept across Taiwan, where the death toll rose to 10, authorities said late Saturday.

The landslide struck the house around 8 a.m. in Yuelin village, which is under the jurisdiction of Hengyang city in Hunan province, state broadcaster CCTV reported in a series of online reports.

An earlier report said 18 people were trapped by the landslide and six injured people had been rescued. It is not clear from the latest report whether another person is missing. The reports did not mention who was staying in the house, which was rented out for temporary stays.

There was no information on whether the injuries were serious.

The reports said the landslide was triggered by water rushing down the mountains as a result of heavy rains. Gaemi was not mentioned in the report, but the China Meteorological Administration said rains linked to the tropical storm hit southeastern parts of Hunan province on Saturday.

In Shanghai, a photo published by the newspaper showed a delivery scooter lying on its side, mostly covered by leafy branches, next to the bare trunk of a tree that was still standing. The storm’s winds were thought to be the cause and investigations are ongoing.

The wide arc of the tropical storm also brought heavy rainfall to Liaoning Province in northeast China, about 1,900 kilometers away.

Hundreds of chemical and mining companies suspended operations on Saturday as a precautionary measure and more than 30,000 people were evacuated, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Nearly 40 trains were suspended for safety reasons by Thursday after persistent rain in recent days caused hazards and damaged tracks.

Two more people have died in Taiwan, bringing the death toll to ten, the island’s news agency reported, citing the operations center. Two more people are missing and 895 people are injured.

The most recent victims were a man found in a sewage ditch and another man who died in a car accident.

More than 800 people were in emergency shelters in Taiwan by Saturday night and over 5,000 households were without electricity.

The typhoon caused nearly $52 million in crop damage, including to bananas, guavas and pears, chicken and other livestock farming, and oyster and other fisheries, the Central News Agency reported, citing figures from the Ministry of Agriculture.

Moritsugu writes for the Associated Press.