19 killed, 12 missing in heavy rains & landslides in China

TIL Desk/World/Beijing-At least 19 people were killed and 12 remained missing in heavy rains and landslides in China, officials said today. At least eleven people were killed and a dozen remain missing after a massive landslide swept through a village in southwest China’s Guizhou yesterday. A total of 30 people were buried by debris when intense rain triggered a mud-slide around 5.30 AM yesterday in Pianpo Village, Dafang County, in the city of Bijie.

Seven people were pulled alive from the debris, while 11 were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the county government. More than 800 soldiers and rescuers are working with excavators to find the 12 people who remain missing. The landslide involved more than 95,00 cubic meters of mud flow. In another incident, eight people were killed today after a wall collapsed due to heavy rain in Wuhan City, capital of central China’s Hubei Province.

The accident occurred when a 15-meter section of the wall of a company in Jiangxia District toppled, local officials said. Nationwide, 133 counties in 11 provincial-level regions — including the provinces of Hubei, Jiangsu and Zhejiang  have reported floods, landslides or mud flows. Some 1,20,000 people have been displaced and 40,000 are in need of aid. More than 3,600 homes collapsed and 19,900 hectares of crops destroyed. Direct economic losses hit 3.14 billion yuan (about USD 471.6 million), the ministry said.