Parts of southeastern China experienced heavy rainfall on Thursday as Tropical Storm Podul made landfall after causing one person to go missing on Taiwan, a self-governing island.
In response to the storm, schools in Hong Kong and Macao were closed. Flooding led to the closure of some streets in Macao, and court proceedings were suspended in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Observatory advised residents to avoid coastal areas for safety.
Podul struck Fujian province shortly after midnight, having weakened from typhoon status. Approximately 15,000 residents were evacuated from coastal zones in southern China ahead of the storm, according to official sources. No immediate reports of injuries or property damage have been confirmed.
Meanwhile, southern Taiwan was recovering after Podul made landfall on the island’s east coast as a typhoon on Wednesday, before moving into the Taiwan Strait several hours later. One person remains missing after being swept out to sea, around 100 people were injured, and 8,000 were relocated to emergency shelters. Power crews worked quickly to restore electricity after residents expressed frustration with earlier delays following previous storms.
Separately, in southwestern China’s Yunnan province, heavy rains triggered a landslide on Wednesday, resulting in one death and three people missing, according to state media reports.
In Beijing, authorities found the body of a village leader who had been missing for over two weeks following flooding. Her death brings the confirmed death toll from recent floods in the region to at least 45.
The 51-year-old official died while attempting to evacuate two elderly residents, according to a statement from the Beijing Communist Party committee. The exact cause of death was not specified. Both she and her husband, who also died in the flood, were honored posthumously as “Outstanding Communist Party Members of Beijing.”
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