Haikui leaves heavy flooding in China

Rescue personnel evacuate a resident in a flooded area. Pic/AP

High waters swept a fire truck into a river in southeastern China early Tuesday, leaving five crew members missing, local authorities said, as the second tropical storm in recent days hit the mainland.

Haikui weakened to a tropical storm as it scraped along the coastline of Fujian and Guangdong provinces Tuesday morning, bringing up to 600 mm of rainfall to some areas as it moves inland, according to China's meteorological agency.

The fire truck swept into a river in Fujian's Yongtai county had been carrying nine crew members. Rescuers were "doing all they can" to find the five still unaccounted for, according to the county emergency response headquarters, as cited by online news site The Paper.

Water transportation and work along the coastline had been suspended ahead of Haikui, which was typhoon strength when it crossed the southern tip of Taiwan on Sunday without causing major damage. Haikui followed Typhoon Saola‘s landfall early Saturday along the Guangdong coast. The typhoon had sideswiped Hong Kong last week, causing some flooding.

Severe rains trigger flooding in Greece

A car and houses submerged in a flooded area. Pic/AP

Greek police ordered vehicles off the streets of the central town of Volos and the nearby mountain region of Pilion on Tuesday as a severe storm hit the area, turning streets into flooded torrents. The ban, which covers all except emergency services and roadside assistance vehicles, will remain in place until the storm subsides, police said. The fire department said one man was killed in Volos when a wall buckled and fell on him, while another man was reported missing, believed to have been swept away by floodwaters.

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