Dozens killed as typhoons hit East Asia

BEIJING: At least 42 people died and scores more were reported missing Tuesday after typhoons battered East Asia, as parts of the region experienced their worst weather in half a century. Most of those killed were in Taiwan when Typhoon Morakot slammed into the island, dumping a record 3.0 metres (120 inches) of rain at the weekend. The storm hit mainland China Sunday afternoon, where it claimed at least six lives as authorities ordered more than a million people to evacuate several provinces. And Chinese state media reported Tuesday that a landslide triggered by torrential rain from Typhoon Morakot toppled "six or seven" four-storey apartment buildings, burying an unknown number of residents. They collapsed at the foot of a mountain in Pengxi Township, near Wenzhou City in the eastern province of Zhejiang late Monday evening, the official news agency said