SHANGHAI, Sept 2: Fourteen people died and 15 were missing on Friday after Typhoon Talim’s whipping rain and winds walloped China’s east coast and Taiwan, causing widespread damage.

Nine people were buried alive and another 15 were unaccounted for after a powerful mudslide crushed their homes in a township of the prosperous eastern city of Wenzhou in Zhejiang province, a city foreign affairs official said.

“We are going to the scene of the accident but we know that nine died and 15 are missing,” said the official, adding that it would be difficult to reach the disaster zone as many roads were badly damaged.

“The rain was extremely heavy and caused several landslides,” he said.

A father and son were killed when their house collapsed in the Chinese province of Fujian, according to Xinhua news agency, while in Taiwan three died when the storm churned across the island, said the National Fire Agency, which coordinates relief efforts.

At least 59 were injured in Taiwan.

Fujian bore the brunt of Talim’s might in China, as it plowed into cities late on Thursday, felling trees and power lines.—AFP