Dozens dead, hundreds missing as typhoons sweep East Asia

Two strong typhoons across the Pacific have left at least 50 people dead and hundreds missing across East Asia. The countries affected are Philippines, Taiwan, China and Japan.

At least 600 people are missing in a landslide which buried a rural village in Southern Taiwan after typhoon Morakot dumped several inches of rain in the area. At least 15 people are reported dead and 55 are missing in other parts of the country. In Philippines, which was hit by the same typhoon last week, death toll has risen to 23 with dozens missing including three European tourists. Meanwhile, Morakot continued to batter China's southeast coast, prompting the evacuation of nearly a million people. In Japan, Typhoon Etau killed 13 people and left 15 others missing as it smashed into the western coast of Japan yesterday. Train services were disrupted and highways were closed in the area. According to weather officials, Etau was forecast to hit the Tokyo area today. According Taiwan met department, Typhoon Morakot dumped more rain on Taiwan than in any 48-hour period since records began 100 years ago. Some places recorded rainfall as high as 120 inches( 300 cms) in a span of two days.Landslides have cut off many villages in Taiwan's mountainous South with Hsiao Lin, a village of 1,000 totally buried in mudslides. Richard Hu, an army major-general who was part of the rescue operations said.

No small number of single-storey houses have been covered in mudslides.We don't know how many people are there, but homes have definitely been buried.

This is the ninth typhoon to hit Asia this year. Morakot means emerald in the Thai language and Etau means storm cloud in the language of Palau.