Multiple people missing, more than 100 houses collapse in Putian as Typhoon Saudel floods Fujian, China

ByRishav Kothari

Multiple people were missing, and more than 100 houses had collapsed in Huating Town, Putian, after Typhoon Saudel brought heavy rain and severe flooding across Fujian on September 3, 2026. Authorities evacuated 83 700 people from risk areas, while NMC recorded local rainfall totals reaching 565.5 mm (22.26 inches) in some areas. Fifty rivers in Fujian exceeded warning levels at 74 hydrological stations between September 3 and 4.

Putian municipal authorities reported that a dike near Xihu Village in Huating Town, Chengxiang District, overtopped and breached at approximately 15:00 LT (07:00 UTC) on September 3. Floodwater entered nearby villages and an industrial area, inundating homes and trapping residents.

Authorities said multiple people were missing and more than 100 houses had collapsed but did not provide a missing-person total. Authorities said the figure could change as search, rescue and damage assessments continued.

Xihu Village transferred 52 households comprising 171 people. Chengxiang District relocated 1 261 people and opened 30 emergency shelters.

The district also deployed emergency personnel to five waterlogged road sections. Two drainage pumping stations had removed more than 5 million cubic meters (1.32 billion US gallons) of water.

Putian’s Level I Rainstorm Warning remained in effect at noon on September 4 as the heavy-rainfall episode continued. Local meteorological authorities forecast further heavy to torrential rain during the day, followed by afternoon showers and thunderstorms from September 5 to 8.

NMC reported that parts of Putian and Quanzhou received 250–565.5 mm (9.84–22.26 inches) of rain on September 3. The maximum hourly rainfall reached 150.3 mm (5.92 inches) locally in Putian. Heavy to torrential rain also affected parts of Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Zhejiang and Taiwan.

Saudel made its third landfall in China near Gulei in Zhangpu County, Zhangzhou, at approximately 06:30 LT on September 3 (22:30 UTC on September 2). The system was a tropical storm at landfall, with maximum sustained winds of approximately 83 km/h (51 mph), reported by NMC, and a minimum central pressure of 985 hPa.

Saudel weakened to a tropical depression over Meizhou, Guangdong, by 14:00 LT on September 3. NMC stopped numbering the system at 17:00 LT after its winds weakened further and its circulation center became difficult to locate.

The Fujian provincial flood-control headquarters reported that 83 700 people had been evacuated from marine and inland risk areas by 07:00 LT on September 3. The provincial flood-control emergency response, raised to Level II at 11:00 LT on September 2, remained in effect on September 4, along with a Level IV typhoon response.

Classes were suspended across Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou and Ningde. Authorities placed eight national and provincial road locations under preventive traffic controls and suspended 657 road passenger-transport routes.

Work was halted at 152 construction sites, while 158 A-level scenic sites were closed.

Between 06:00 LT on September 3 and 06:00 LT on September 4, water levels on 50 rivers exceeded warning thresholds at 74 hydrological stations, according to the Fujian Hydrology and Water Resources Survey Center. The exceedances affected eight prefecture-level areas.

The Xianyou and Laixi stations in Putian recorded their highest flood levels on record. At 06:00 LT on September 4, 18 stations on 13 rivers remained above warning level, with Laixi remaining above the higher guaranteed water level used for flood-control operations.

The National Development and Reform Commission announced an additional CNY 100 million in central-budget investment on September 4 to support disaster recovery in Fujian. The agency cited flooding in Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Ningde and Putian associated with Typhoons Narra and Saudel and their heavy rainfall.

The National Commission for Disaster Prevention, Reduction and Relief and the Ministry of Emergency Management had activated a national Level IV disaster-relief response for Saudel’s impacts on Zhejiang and Fujian on August 28.

At 10:00 LT (02:00 UTC) on September 4, NMC forecast Saudel’s residual circulation and outer cloud bands to produce local rainfall totals of 100–180 mm (4–7 inches) across parts of southern Hunan, southwestern Jiangxi and eastern Fujian.

The forecast covered the period from 14:00 LT (06:00 UTC) on September 4 to 14:00 LT (06:00 UTC) on September 5.

Saudel first made landfall near Kanmen in Yuhuan, Zhejiang, at approximately 08:05 LT on August 28, followed by a second landfall near Longwan in Wenzhou at approximately 09:10 LT. NMC stopped numbering the system at 17:00 LT on August 30 after it weakened inland.

Saudel’s residual circulation subsequently moved into the northwestern South China Sea and redeveloped into a tropical depression at approximately 17:00 LT on August 31. It regained tropical-storm strength early September 1 before making its third landfall in China on September 3.

References:

1 Typhoon Bulletin: Saudel’s residual circulation continues to produce heavy rainfall — NMC — September 4, 2026

2 Weather Bulletin: Heavy to torrential rain affects parts of Fujian, Jiangxi and Hunan — NMC — September 4, 2026

3 Saudel no longer numbered as heavy-rainfall impacts continue — Fujian Provincial Government — September 4, 2026

4 Multiple people missing after days of heavy rain in Putian, Fujian — Xinhua — September 4, 2026

5 Additional CNY 100 million allocated for typhoon disaster recovery in Fujian — National Development and Reform Commission — September 4, 2026

Featured image: Severe flooding in Putian, Fujian on September 3, 2026. Credit: Yangyubin1998

Rishav Kothari is Editor-in-Chief of The Watchers, where he runs the newsroom and covers earthquakes, volcanoes, severe weather and space weather.

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