KUNMING — The death toll from a landslide that struck a mountainous village in southwest China’s Yunnan Province on Monday had climbed to 31 as of 5:40 p.m. Tuesday, local authorities said.
Among the 47 people previously reported missing, rescuers managed to get in touch with three, who were not in the immediate vicinity when the landslide occurred but were somehow unreachable, according to the local disaster relief headquarters.
More than 1,000 rescuers have joined in the search and rescue operations, along with 150 machines and vehicles and 81 dogs.
A total of 918 residents from 223 households have been evacuated to safe locations. Some are staying with relatives, and others are taking shelter at a temporary settlement site at a nearby school. Two residents are receiving treatment in hospital.
A SUDDEN TRAGEDY
The landslide struck at about 6 a.m. on Monday in Liangshui Village, Zhenxiong County, in the city of Zhaotong.
Villager Hong Xianjie was awakened by a rumbling sound that accompanied the landslide.
“I felt the ground shaking. I thought it was an earthquake,” recalled Hong, who was lucky enough to emerge unscathed from the disaster.
Lei Huachang, 53, and his family narrowly escaped death, thanks to an earlier decision to visit relatives in neighboring Guizhou Province. They returned home Monday afternoon, only to find their house buried beneath debris. Four members of his brother’s family are still missing.
“I can’t hold back my tears. It was such a tragedy, but we’re taken good care of now,” said Lei.
Hong and some other young villagers are working as volunteers to help carry relief supplies such as clothes, quilts, drinking water and milk, at the shelter site.
More than 200 tents, 1,200 cotton coats, 700 quilts, 200 folding beds and other supplies have been sent to the site.
RACING AGAINST TIME
Preliminary investigations found that the landslide was caused by a collapse in a steep cliff area at the top of a slope. Previous rainfalls had also contributed to the landslide.
Rescuers are racing against the clock in search of the missing, but freezing and snowy weather is hampering their efforts.
They have used snow-melting agents and machines to ensure smooth transportation to the affected area, and power-generating vehicles to ensure power supply, said Yang Xuchun, head of the county.
“We use excavators to clear our way before we manually clear rocks to find buried people,” said Chen Pinrun, a firefighter. “Time is life. We will try our best to save lives.”
XINJIANG QUAKE
In Urumqi, there was a report that three people were killed and five others injured when a 7.1-magnitude earthquake jolted Wushi County and its surrounding areas in Aksu Prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, at 2:09 a.m. Tuesday, local authorities said.
Organized rescue efforts are carried out in an orderly manner, with 12,426 people having been relocated to safe places.
The central authorities have allocated 22,000 disaster relief materials, including cotton tents and coats, to aid Xinjiang in relief efforts and relocation and resettlement of affected residents. By noon on Tuesday, the first batch of about 10,000 relief supplies had reached the disaster zone.
As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, the China Earthquake Networks Center had reported 70 aftershocks at magnitudes of 3.0 or higher in the region. A 5.3-magnitude aftershock was the most powerful that has been reported so far.
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Related article:
7.1-magnitude Quake Hits Xinjiang; Death Toll Rises in Yunnan Landslide
