7 Chinese provinces hit hard by double typhoons

Typhoons Saola and Damrey had caused severe and widespread damage in seven, mostly coastal provinces in China, authorities said Sunday.

Windstorms, floods and mudslides caused by Saola, the ninth typhoon of the year, resulted in six deaths, two missing and the relocation of nearly 1.03 million people in the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi and Shandong, according to a statement from the National Commission for Disaster Reduction and the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Meanwhile the northeastern province of Liaoning and the northern province of Hebei were affected by floods caused by Typhoon Damrey, the 10th of the year.

Nearly 1.46 million people in Liaoning were affected by heavy rains and floods, which left one dead and five missing, according to the statement.

More than 10,000 houses in the province had collapsed and about 17,000 were damaged, forcing 138,000 people to evacuate, it said.

In Hebei, one person was killed, another remains missing and 151,000 were relocated due to the havoc caused by Damrey. In total, nearly 2.42 million people in the province were affected by the disaster. Nearly 9,900 houses were destructed in the flooding, and 104,000 houses were damaged.