Zhejiang Mudslide Kills One as Typhoon Remnants Lash Eastern China

A mudslide triggered by a flash flood in eastern China's Zhejiang Province has claimed one life, with three people still unaccounted for, according to state media. The incident occurred at approximately 6:30 a.m. local time on Friday in Changxing County, where the force of the slide caused a house to collapse. Rescue operations are currently underway at the site.

The disaster unfolded as the region contends with the lingering effects of Typhoon Dolphin, which made landfall on the country's eastern coast on Sunday. The storm has unleashed extreme rainfall across eastern, central, and northern areas this week, shattering single-day precipitation records at 13 weather stations nationwide.

Forecasters expect the remnants of Dolphin, combined with cold air and a monsoon trough, to bring additional heavy downpours to eastern and southeastern China from Friday through Sunday. Authorities are also monitoring Lake Tai, the country's third-largest freshwater lake, where a basin-wide major flood is anticipated.

In central China's Henan Province, a riverbank breach late Thursday in the city of Zhoukou has prompted the evacuation of 781 people, as reported by state broadcaster CCTV.

The latest fatalities add to a deadly summer of extreme weather. Data from the emergency management ministry shows that natural disasters in July, which included Typhoons Maysak, Bavi, and Noul, left 318 people dead or missing and caused direct economic losses of 57.15 billion yuan (approximately $8.5 billion). Both figures represent an increase compared to the same period last year.

Scientists link the increasing frequency and intensity of such destructive weather events to climate change, a trend that is being amplified this year by an emerging El Niño pattern, which fuels warmer temperatures and more powerful typhoons.