Typhoon Morakot topples buildings in southeast China (video)

"Six or seven apartment buildings collapsed at about 10:30 pm local time in Pengxi Township, near Wenzhou City in the eastern province of Zhejiang," the official Xinhua news agency said.

 It was not immediately known how many people were buried, rescuers told Xinhua, adding that it was difficult to carry out search operations due to a huge amount of mud and rock.

Xinhua also said that 473,300 residents of the coastal province of Zhejiang had been moved, while more than 480,000 people were evacuated from neighboring Fujian province.

The landslide was triggered by continuous torrential rain brought by Typhoon Morakot, which has left six people dead and three others missing on the Chinese mainland, Xinhua added.