Tropical Storm Gaemi's Aftermath: 12 Dead, Massive Disruptions in China

Heavy rainfall from Tropical Storm Gaemi caused 12 fatalities and significant damage in southern China, with flash floods and railway disruptions reported. Officials in Jilin province shut down schools, factories, and businesses, and thousands were evacuated. The storm affected over 630,000 people as it moved from Taiwan through China.

Continued heavy rainfall from Tropical Storm Gaemi triggered a deadly landslide in southern China, resulting in the deaths of 12 people and causing flash floods in the northeast, state media reported on Sunday.

Although Gaemi, downgraded from a typhoon, saw its cyclonic winds dissipating by Sunday, many areas remained on high alert due to flooding risks from previous rains. Forecasters warned that Gaemi's residual cloud banks could still cause heavy rainfall in already inundated cities. The landslide occurred near Hengyang city in Hunan province, trapping 18 people, while six injured survivors were rescued, according to state broadcaster CCTV. Hunan provincial authorities issued a flood warning as heavy rains persisted through Sunday.

In a related incident, two officials, including the deputy mayor of Linjiang city in Jilin province, went missing during flood rescue efforts, as reported by CCTV citing city authorities. More than 27,000 residents in northeast China were evacuated and numerous factories suspended operations. The storm, the most powerful to hit China this year, had battered coastal towns in Fujian province on Friday with severe rains and strong winds before moving inland.

Jilin province, which borders North Korea, upgraded its warnings for heavy rains and flash floods on Sunday morning. Local authorities in Linjiang halted school, factory, and business operations, cautioning that significant flood disasters could occur. Rail services were disrupted in southern China's Guangdong province and on Hainan island, although some passenger rail lines began resuming in the southern provinces of Fujian and Jiangxi as the storm progressed northwards.

Having caused dozens of deaths in Taiwan and exacerbated seasonal rains in the Philippines, Gaemi has impacted nearly 630,000 individuals in Fujian, with roughly half of them displaced, according to state news agency Xinhua.

(With inputs from agencies.)