Searchers in the southeastern part of the mainland have found another body from rain-triggered landslides last weekend in Jiangxi province, raising the death toll to 16, state media said on Thursday.

The deaths were spread across three towns in Suichuan county, where heavy rain drenched the area for days after Typhoon Saudel made its third landfall in neighbouring Fujian.

Local authorities confirmed the toll on Thursday, with torrential rain causing a series of geological disasters in the county.

A mudslide in Gaoping town killed 13 people, state broadcaster CCTV said in an online report.

Two others were found dead in Zuo'an town, and one other in Tanghu town.

More than 18,000 people have been evacuated in Suichuan county.

Two more people were killed in neighbouring Hunan province following rains brought by the typhoon, state media reported earlier.

The CCTV report didn’t specify the cause of the deaths, but said the rain had triggered landslides and other disasters.

Saudel made landfall twice in Zhejiang province on August 28 before its third in Fujian on September 3. (AP/Xinhua)



Edited by Tony Sabine