Landslides increase China flood toll

The latest disaster arrived in the form of a landslide which hit Central China’s Hubei province early on Sunday, leaving four people dead and 20 missing.

Another mudslide in southwest China’s Danba region killed one with 50 others reported missing. 

“There are 50 people still missing. They could be buried or washed away. We have found one dead body so far,” an official in Danba said.

The official said rescue work was being hit because of the difficult terrain.

“Because its mountainous and the mud and rock slide was so severe, rescue workers can only walk. Vehicles cannot pass through,” he said.

Torrential rains over the past few days have caused widespread floods in China, besides intermittently triggering the landslides.

At least 17 people are presumed dead after they were buried in another landslide on Friday on the Sichuan-Tibet highway.

Grim Situation

Meanwhile, officials described the country’s flood situation as grim despite many rivers beginning to recede.

They issued fresh warnings to rescue workers in Anhui province to stay on high alert as river Huai was still flowing dangerously high and threatened dykes.

“The dykes have been soaked for a long time. When the water is receding, dangers can easily occur,” a senior official of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said.

China estimates 569 people have died in the unprecedented floods that submerged large tracts of its central, eastern and southern regions.

Economic losses are pegged at around 4.8 billion dollars.