rFUDING, China: Typhoon Saudel drenched southern China Friday, flooding communities in Fujian and Guangdong, sweeping through streets and collapsing a three-story building as authorities evacuated residents and prepared for more torrential rain.
In Fuding, firefighters waded through waist-deep floodwaters to carry elderly residents to safety, according to social media footage verified by Reuters. Nearby Jinxi village, a mountainous tea-growing community, was also inundated, with floodwaters entering homes and bringing down a three-story house, the footage showed.
Authorities closed schools, suspended public transportation and activated emergency flood measures in several coastal areas as the storm continued to threaten low-lying communities.
Saudel made its third landfall along Fujian's coast Thursday morning after strengthening again over the South China Sea.
The storm is the seventh typhoon to hit China this year and the third to strike Yuhuan in eastern Zhejiang in less than two months. China's Meteorological Administration described the sequence as extremely rare.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been relocated across Zhejiang and neighboring provinces since late August. More than 83,000 people were evacuated in Fujian alone as Saudel moved inland and brought heavy rain to surrounding areas.
The unusual pattern of storms has raised broader concerns about the role of El Niño in shaping typhoon activity.
During an El Niño year, the western Pacific subtropical high can become unusually strong and shift farther north, helping steer typhoons along a northwestward path toward China's eastern coast.
The United Nations warned Thursday that El Niño was expected to strengthen further into 2027, potentially increasing the risk of prolonged extreme weather.
Saudel follows Typhoon Narra, which brought heavy rain to Guangxi, Hainan and Guangdong provinces late last month. The successive storms have left soil saturated and waterways swollen in parts of southern China.
China's Ministry of Natural Resources warned that continued torrential rain could trigger secondary disasters, including landslides. Rivers in some areas had already crossed warning thresholds, while low-lying communities remained vulnerable to further flooding.
Authorities continued emergency preparations as Saudel moved inland, with residents in vulnerable areas urged to remain alert as additional rainfall could worsen flooding and destabilize already saturated hillsides.
