At Least 17 Killed In Floods And Landslides In China, 33 Missing

At least 17 people have died and 33 others are missing in China due to torrents and landslides over the last 48 hours. President Xi Jinping has urged authorities to conduct all-out search and rescue operations and prioritize flood prevention and disaster relief work in the affected areas.

The incident in Gansu was triggered by torrential rain that hit Yuzhong county and other parts of the city of Lanzhou on Thursday evening, reported PTI. 

The maximum precipitation recorded was 220.2 mm by noon on Friday. Several townships in Yuzhong were seriously affected, with flood waters mixed with uprooted trees and mud blocking roads and damaging houses and vehicles, reported PTI. 

Provincial authorities have dispatched more than 2,700 rescue personnel, 980 vehicles and pieces of machinery, and 8,530 sets of emergency supplies to the area.

Efforts are underway to find the missing, repair infrastructure, and evacuate and resettle affected residents.

According to PTI, a separate incident occurred on Wednesday where a rain-triggered landslide in Guangzhou, the capital of southern Guangdong province, killed seven people and injured seven others. Local officials confirmed the deaths on Friday.

The landslide occurred in Dayuan Village in the Baiyun District, trapping 14 people and damaging multiple houses. The injured have been taken to the hospital. Cleanup work and geological hazard assessments are ongoing.

Reportedly, several provinces across China are currently dealing with heavy rains and floods. Two weeks ago, 44 people were killed and nine went missing in rain-triggered floods in Beijing. The victims included 31 people from a nursing home in the Miyun district of the capital.