The death toll from typhoon Kaemi rose yesterday to at least 25, with 53 people missing after torrential rains triggered landslides and floods, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Most of the dead and missing were in East China's Jiangxi Province, which was hit by Kaemi after the storm churned ashore on Tuesday as a typhoon, the report said.

A torrent of water rushed down a mountainside on Wednesday morning, washing away a military barracks in East China's Jiangxi Province. Six died and 38 are missing, military sources told Xinhua yesterday morning.

The mountain torrent was triggered by tropical storm Kaemi. The 38 missing people included military officers, soldiers and their families, initial investigation shows.

President Hu Jintao has ordered that "the utmost efforts" be made to search the 38 people, Xinhua reported.

Kaemi has lashed central and southern parts of Jiangxi Province with rainstorms since Tuesday afternoon, triggering floods and landslides.

Rescuers have evacuated more than 12,000 civilians in the worst hit area, Shangyou County, where the maximum rainfall within 6 hours exceeded 280 millimetres. Relief efforts have provided the county with 1 million yuan (US$125,000), 100,000 kilograms of rice and 2,000 quilts.

Rainstorms and consequential disasters have affected more than 330,000 people in Jiangxi.

About 9,200 houses were toppled and 6,400 hectares of farmland were spoiled. Direct economic losses are estimated at 150 million yuan (US$18.75 million), according to Xinhua.

Kaemi has weakened, but South China continued to be lashed by heavy rains yesterday, the Central Observatory said.

The observatory also warned of potential floods, mud-flows and other land disasters caused by heavy rains in the south.

Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu yesterday called for closer weather observation, more precise forecasts and early warnings to prevent and reduce disasters.

Visiting the Central Meteorological Station, Hui said China was in a major flood and typhoon period, and meteorological agencies should follow changes in weather patterns, especially of typhoons, and step up scientific evaluations of meteorological disasters.

The meteorological office said Kaemi carried less rain than Bilis, but caused fresh damage in areas already hit by Bilis, which killed 612 people and left 208 missing in southern China.

South China's Guangdong Province also reported two deaths, while local authorities are still counting the missing and affected population, Xinhua said.

Kaemi triggered floods and landslides in Central China's Hunan Province on Wednesday, leaving three people missing.

Kaemi, the fifth such storm of the year, made landfall in Taiwan and also hit East China's Fujian Province.

This year, typhoons came earlier and stronger than before, said Er Jingping, general secretary of Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters. The flood season lasted longer than usual and affected more people.

Source: China Daily