Southern China is bracing for more heavy rainfall as Typhoon Saudel continues to affect the region. Saudel, the seventh typhoon to hit China this year, made its third landfall on Fujian's coastline on Thursday after strengthening over the South China Sea. The storm has already caused severe flooding in coastal areas, with heavy rains persisting into Friday. This has led to flooded towns and rural regions, with vehicles submerged and a three-storey brick building collapsing due to the structural damage caused by the water. In the tea-producing city of Fuding in Fujian, verified social media videos showed emergency crews wading through waist-deep water to rescue elderly residents. Nearby, in the mountainous village of Jinxi, floodwaters swept through homes, with verified footage showing another three-storey building collapse. In response, authorities in several coastal districts have closed schools, suspended public transport, and activated emergency flood response plans. The typhoon has also hit Yuhuan in Zhejiang province for the third time in under two months, a sequence described by China's Meteorological Administration as highly unusual. Experts attribute this unusual pattern to the El Niño weather phenomenon, which strengthens the Western Pacific subtropical high and pushes it northward, directing typhoons toward eastern China. The UN has warned that El Niño could intensify through 2027, potentially becoming the strongest on record and increasing the risk of prolonged extreme weather. Since late August, hundreds of thousands of people in Zhejiang and neighboring provinces have been evacuated to safer areas, with Fujian alone evacuating around 83,000 people as Saudel moved inland. Saudel arrived shortly after Typhoon Narra brought heavy rainfall to Guangdong, Hainan, and Guangxi last month. China's natural resources ministry has issued warnings about secondary hazards like landslides, as swollen rivers have exceeded warning levels and threaten low-lying communities. The situation highlights the growing challenges posed by extreme weather events, driven in part by climate-related factors such as El Niño.