28 killed in heavy rains, landslides in China

At least 28 people were killed and three others remained missing in heavy rains and landslides in China, officials said today.

Twenty people were killed after a massive landslide swept through a village in southwest China’s Guizhou Province yesterday. Three remained missing after intense rain triggered the landslide in Pianpo Village, Dafang County local officials said.

Thirty people were buried by the debris. Seven of them were rescued alive but sustained injuries.

More than 800 soldiers and rescuers are working with excavators to search for the missing villagers, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The landslide involved more than 95,000 cubic meters of debris and covered an area of 19,000 square meters.

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-metre section of the wall of a company in Jiangxia District toppled, local officials said.

Eight people who walked near the wall, more than two metres high, were buried by the debris and found dead after being pull out by rescuers, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Rain and storms have wreaked havoc across south China since June 27, leaving at least 34 people dead or missing nationwide, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said.

Floods from swollen rivers forced more than 12,000 people to relocate overnight, the Hubei provincial disaster relief headquarters 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 120,000 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 $471.6 million), the ministry said.

The weather authority had on Friday again forecast heavy rain and warned of severe floods in parts of Anhui, Hunan, Guizhou and Tibet from Friday night through Saturday.

The National Meteorological Centre and the Ministry of Water Resources have asked local authorities to monitor weather and take all necessary precautions.