WUHAN/SHENYANG/BEIJING, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-three people have been confirmed dead and nine others remained missing after typhoons Damrey and Saola tore through China's eastern coastal regions over the weekend, local authorities said Monday.
As of 5 p.m. Monday, 14 people had been confirmed dead and five remained missing due to heavy rain in 14 counties and districts in central China's Hubei province, which was hit by Saola, the provincial flood control headquarters said in its latest brief.
Rainstorms and rain-triggered mudslides have destroyed nearly 9,200 houses and damaged at least 15,000 others. Over 135,000 local residents have been forced to relocate or are in grave need of daily necessities, according to the statement.
Severe rainfall also added to flood-control pressure on reservoirs in Danjiangkou, a water resource zone for the country's massive south-to-north water diversion project.
At 8 p.m., the National Commission for Disaster Reduction and the Ministry of Civil Affairs initiated a level-four emergency response plan for the affected areas and sent teams to assist with relief work.
Provincial authorities of northeast China's Liaoning province said on Monday morning that at least nine people have died due to typhoon Damrey and another four remained missing.
Damrey also temporarily disrupted rail services in Liaoning on Saturday, affecting more than 2 million people.
In the city of Xiuyan, where six of the deaths occurred, the typhoon cut off electricity, paralyzed road traffic and damaged drinking water facilities. More than 110,000 people there have been affected.
In the city of Benxi, heavy flooding on the Sandaohe and Xihe rivers trapped more than 300 construction workers in a tunnel on Monday morning. Firefighters dispatched to the site are currently building a ropeway to pull the workers out of the tunnel.