Typhoon Saudel Floods China as Three-Storey House Collapses and 83,000+ Evacuated

Typhoon Saudel Flood Disaster

China Faces New Flood Emergency

Typhoon Saudel has unleashed severe flooding across eastern and southern China, sending water through homes and streets, forcing mass evacuations and bringing down a three-storey house in Fujian province. More than 83,000 people were evacuated in Fujian alone before the storm made its third landfall on Thursday, September 3.

The immediate danger has not disappeared with Saudel weakening inland. China’s National Meteorological Center warned on Friday that the storm’s residual circulation could still produce intense rainfall across Fujian and neighbouring provinces, with some locations facing another 250 to 280 millimetres of rain.

Floodwaters Bring Down Three-Storey House

The scale of the flooding became brutally clear in Jinxi village, a mountainous tea-growing community in Fujian, where raging water inundated residential buildings and brought down a three-storey house. Floodwater has also swept through urban and rural areas, engulfing vehicles and forcing rescuers to move through deep water to reach residents.

Elsewhere in the province, emergency crews have faced extraordinary conditions. In Fuding, rescuers carried residents through waist-deep floodwater, while local authorities mobilised teams to clear roads, drain flooded areas and conduct checks in vulnerable communities.

Fuding was among the areas worst hit before Saudel’s latest landfall. One township recorded 417.8 millimetres of rain on September 1, while floodwaters in some communities rose as high as the first floor of buildings.

More Than 83,000 People Evacuated

Authorities had evacuated more than 83,000 people across Fujian by 7am on September 3 as persistent rain battered the province. The storm also forced widespread shutdowns designed to keep residents away from increasingly dangerous roads, construction sites and exposed coastal areas.

Eight sections of major roads had been closed, 657 transport services suspended and work stopped at 152 construction sites. More than 150 major tourist attractions were also shut, while schools were closed in several cities including Fuzhou, Quanzhou and Ningde.

The evacuations in Fujian form part of a much larger movement of people away from the storm’s path. Hundreds of thousands have been relocated across Zhejiang and surrounding areas since late August as Saudel repeatedly approached and crossed China’s eastern coastline.

Saudel Makes Its Third Landfall

Saudel, the 18th named typhoon of China’s 2026 season, struck the coast of Zhangpu County in Fujian at about 6:30am on Thursday. The storm was carrying maximum sustained winds of around 23 metres per second near its centre at landfall.

It was Saudel’s third landfall in China. The system had previously crossed the coast of Zhejiang twice on August 28 before later re-intensifying and returning towards Fujian.

That unusual track has meant communities have faced repeated rounds of wind and extreme rain rather than one clean passage of the storm. Even areas away from the final landfall point have been exposed to dangerous rainfall as Saudel interacted with surrounding weather systems.

A Rescue Completed Just Before Another Home Collapsed

The flooding has also produced a series of narrow escapes. In Quanzhou, provincial authorities described rescuers reaching a house where an elderly resident and two young children had become trapped as floodwater rose rapidly around them.

Firefighters broke through a side window after debris and a refrigerator blocked normal access to the property. They carried the elderly resident and the two children out through waist-deep water and transferred them to safety.

Less than two minutes after all three had been evacuated, part of the home collapsed. Emergency crews continued working through the night, with more than 150 trapped or threatened residents rescued or evacuated during that round of severe rainfall.

Extreme Rain Remains the Biggest Threat

Saudel itself has weakened, but its remnants remain capable of producing dangerous rainfall. China’s National Meteorological Center said on Friday morning that Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Zhejiang and Taiwan had already experienced widespread heavy to extreme rainfall during the previous day.

Parts of Putian and Quanzhou in Fujian recorded exceptional totals of between 250 and 565.5 millimetres. In Putian, an extraordinary 150.3 millimetres fell locally within a single hour.

Further heavy rain was forecast from Friday morning into Saturday, with parts of eastern Fujian potentially receiving another 250 to 280 millimetres. The national forecaster maintained a yellow warning for heavy rain and warned that intense downpours could trigger secondary disasters.

The Danger Has Not Ended With Landfall

That is now the central threat from Saudel. Wind speeds decline quickly once a tropical cyclone moves inland, but water continues draining from mountains and saturated ground into rivers and low-lying settlements long after the storm centre has weakened.

Flooded communities therefore face continuing danger from swollen rivers, flash flooding, landslides, damaged roads and structurally weakened buildings. The collapse in Jinxi is a stark example of what happens when prolonged rainfall undermines ordinary infrastructure.

For the tens of thousands already moved to safety, the next test is whether rainfall eases quickly enough for rivers and saturated hillsides to stabilise. Saudel may no longer be a powerful coastal typhoon, but across parts of Fujian and neighbouring provinces, its most dangerous legacy could still be the enormous volume of water it has left behind.