BEIJING, Sept 8 — Landslides in eastern China have killed six people with nine others still missing, state media said today, days after heavy rains unleashed by Typhoon Saudel.

A mudslide which hit Mingkeng village in Jiangxi province on Saturday left five dead and seven missing, state news agency Xinhua said, citing local officials.

Another person was found dead and two others still missing after landslides hit the nearby townships of Zuo’an and Tanghu.

The landslides followed days of torrential rains brought by Saudel, which first made landfall on China’s eastern coast at the end of last month.

Several cities suspended work, schools and transport services in the face of the heavy rains.

The landslide in Mingkeng damaged homes and destabilised roads, according to Xinhua. More than 170 rescuers were deployed to the site to scour for those missing.

The landslides follow devastating glacial floods in the Himalayas last month that have killed 43 people in Tibet, according to state media, as well as nearly 1,300 people across the border in Nepal.

There are more than 5,000 missing in Nepal and another 519 on the Tibetan side of the border.

Scientists say climate change is accelerating glacial melting worldwide and making extreme storms more frequent worldwide, increasing the risk of such disasters. — AFP