Mudslide in eastern China kills one, more heavy rain expected
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
Rescue workers evacuate stranded villagers, following heavy rainfall brought by the remnants of Typhoon Dolphin, in Deqing county, Huzhou, on Aug 14.
PHOTO: REUTERS
BEIJING – A mudslide in eastern China’s Zhejiang province on Aug 14 killed one person and three others remained missing, while eastern and southern provinces were bracing themselves for more downpours and floods, China’s state media reported.
The mudslide occurred around 6.30am in Changxing county and caused a house to collapse, state-run Xinhua News Agency said.
A preliminary investigation showed that the mudslide was triggered by a flash flood after a sudden burst of heavy rain. Rescue work was under way, Xinhua reported.
China is increasingly battling destructive weather that scientists link to climate change, especially in 2026, as an emerging El Nino pattern boosts temperatures and fuels more frequent and intense typhoons.
Natural disasters in China in July, when the country was affected by Typhoons Maysak, Bavi and Noul, left 318 people dead or missing and caused direct economic losses of 57.15 billion yuan (S$10.8 billion), according to data released by the Emergency Management Ministry.
Both numbers were higher compared with July 2025.
Typhoon Dolphin, which made landfall on the country’s eastern coast on Aug 9, unleashed extreme rain across eastern, central and northern regions this week, breaking single-day rainfall records at 13 weather stations across the country.
In central China’s Henan province, the authorities were organising the evacuation of 781 people after a riverbank was breached late on Aug 13 in the city of Zhoukou, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Aug 14.
Remnants of Typhoon Dolphin, combined with cold air and a monsoon trough, are expected to bring more heavy rain in eastern and south-eastern China from Aug 14 to Aug 16, CCTV said in a separate report.
A basin-wide major flood is expected in Lake Tai in the east, the country’s third-largest freshwater lake and the origin of a number of rivers, according to CCTV. REUTERS
