Typhoon Soudelor kills 26 in east China

The death toll from Typhoon Soudelor, the 13th this year, has risen to 26 with seven still missing in east China.

In Fujian Province, where the typhoon made landfall on Saturday, seven people have died and three remain missing, the provincial flood control authority said on Tuesday.

Soudelor is the most violent typhoon to hit Fujian in a decade, with torrential rain and gale-force winds destroying houses and causing landslides and floods.

Rainfall of more than 500 mm was recorded in six counties, causing rivers to rise to alarming levels and flood water affecting the provincial capital of Fuzhou for 38 hours.

In Fujian, 513,900 residents have been evacuated, 6,900 houses destroyed and 112,060 hectares of crops damaged, resulting in direct economic losses of 9.7 billion yuan (1.5 billion U.S. dollars).

The typhoon also wreaked havoc in the neighboring provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Anhui.

In Zhejiang, 14 people have died and four are missing. Four died in Anhui, and in Jiangxi, one person died after being struck by lightning.

After ripping through Taiwan, Soudelor landed in Fujian's Putian County on Saturday night before moving to neighboring provinces.