China starts emergency response for typhoon-hit areas

Chinese authorities have issued a grade-IV emergency response to typhoon Soudelor, which has left 12 people dead and another 5 missing in east China's Zhejiang Province on Sunday.

After pounding Taiwan and leaving six people dead, Soudelor landed in the Chinese mainland Saturday night in Fujian Province and moved to neighboring Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs and the China National Commission for Disaster Reduction have sent two teams to assist relief work in Zhejiang and Fujian, where residents have seen heavy downpours.

A grade-IV response, the lowest in China's emergency response system, requires a 24-hour alert, daily damage reports, and sending money and relief materials within 48 hours.

In Fujian, the typhoon has affected about 1.21 million people, forced the evacuation of 320,000 residents, and left 700 houses collapsed as of 2 p.m. Sunday.

In Zhejiang, a total of 955,000 people have been affected and 160,000 of them have been evacuated.