SHANGHAI, China (AP) – Torrential rains and flooding from typhoon Talim have killed at least 10 people and left 15 missing in eastern China, the government said Friday.

The deaths occurred in Fujian province on China’s southeastern coast, the official Xinhua news agency said without giving any details. It said Talim caused $450 million US in damage.

In neighbouring Zhejiang province, storm-damaged roads were hampering rescue efforts, said an official with the Flood Control and Drought Relief Office in the coastal city of Wenzhou.

The official wouldn’t give his name. Civil servants in China routinely decline to give their names when speaking to foreign media, usually saying they aren’t authorized to talk to reporters.

Floodwaters and heavy flows of mud and rock also caused the collapse of more than 300 homes in the mountainous Cangnan area, just south of Wenzhou, the official said. He said he had no information on injuries or economic losses from the collapses.

Talim was downgraded late Thursday to a tropical storm and weakened further Friday as it passed further inland into Jiangxi province.

In Zhejiang and neighbouring Fujian provinces, the storm prompted the evacuation of almost one million people from low-lying coastal areas and mountain villages that are vulnerable to flash floods.

By noon Friday, Talim was centred about 750 kilometres southwest of Shanghai and moving inland at about 20 kilometres an hour, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.

However, heavy rains continued in Zhejiang and coastal Fujian, where the storm landed Thursday afternoon.

In Taiwan, Talim’s heavy rain and winds were blamed for the drowning deaths of two men and injuries to 24 others on Thursday. Schools, offices markets and financial markets on the island reopened on Friday after being closed Thursday. Train services and flights were also restored.

© The Canadian Press, 2005