China evacuates residents and searches for mudslide victims as storms lash parts of the country

BEIJING (AP) — Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in China’s southwest after heavy rain caused hillsides to collapse. Meanwhile, two people died and 16 are missing following a mudslide in the country’s west, state media reported Saturday. Storm Khanun, which hit Japan as a typhoon, is now lashing China’s northeast, leading to a breach in a river dike and the cancellation of at least 20 trains. Parts of China suffer heavy rains and flooding every summer, but this year has been unusually severe in some areas, while other regions struggle with drought that is damaging crops.