Typhoon Saudel Floods China, Traps 2,500

Typhoon Saudel brought severe flooding, flash-flood warnings and landslide risks to eastern and southern China after making its third landfall in Fujian, an unusually repeated impact that meteorologists have linked to broader atmospheric conditions associated with El Niño. More than 2,500 teachers and students were trapped in a flooded school compound in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, while authorities used drones to deliver food and drinking water. Floodwaters submerged vehicles, swept away a three-story building in Fujian’s Xianyou County and disrupted roads, work, classes, public transit and ferry services. Authorities evacuated hundreds of thousands of people from high-risk areas, closed schools and tourist attractions, and activated emergency flood-control measures as heavy rain continued in Fujian and Guangdong.