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William Zheng

Hundreds of rescuers in southwestern China are racing against incoming thunderstorms to pull residents from the mud and debris after a landslide on Friday morning destroyed buildings in Chongqing municipality.
The disaster in Chongqing’s Pengshui county is among several triggered by heavy rainfall and extreme weather hitting parts of China in recent weeks, prompting Beijing to send senior rescue officials to the scene.


Local community officials in Hanjia subdistrict of Chongqing’s Pengshui Miao and Tujia autonomous county, witnessed sporadic rockfalls and issued an emergency warning at about 8am on Friday. They rushed to evacuate more than 60 residents, according to mainland news portal Thepaper.cn.
The report said a large landslide occurred about an hour later, crashing through several residential buildings and trapping residents who were in the process of leaving.
According to a press conference held by the Chongqing government on Friday night, 18 people had been rescued, with 8 deaths recorded. 34 additional people are still missing.
It said more than 1,100 people living near the landslide site had been safely evacuated while water, electricity and gas were cut off within a 1km (0.6-mile) radius of the disaster site to aid risk assessment. More than 800 rescuers were at the scene.

The National Mine Emergency Rescue Team and National Tunnel Emergency Rescue Team sent 75 Chongqing members and 21 vehicles to the landslide site to help identify signs of life, state broadcaster CCTV said.
It said they were bringing 438 sets of rescue equipment into the disaster zone, including life search and rescue gear, emergency command equipment and slope radar, which is used to monitor very small movements on slopes and assess the risk of further landslides.
China’s ministries of finance and emergency management allocated 50 million yuan (US$7.4 million) from central natural disaster relief funds to support rescue and relief work, CCTV said.
The county government said the rescue effort was ongoing, and any news of casualties would be announced later.
The country’s top leadership also weighed in, with Chinese President Xi Jinping urging efforts to carry out search-and-rescue operations “in a scientific manner” after the landslide struck.
Premier Li Qiang ordered various authorities to “provide guidance and assistance” in Chongqing’s rescue and relief work, help treat the injured, resettle those who were affected and strictly prevent secondary disasters, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Vice-Premier Zhang Guoqing rushed to the scene following the top two leaders’ concerns, Xinhua reported.
China’s Ministry of Emergency Management activated a Level 2 national emergency response – the second-highest level – for geological disasters around noon on Friday. It has sent a working group led by the emergency management minister, Zhang Chengzhong, to guide rescue efforts at the scene, according to state news agency Xinhua.
The ministry sent 100 workers and equipment from the Natural Disaster Engineering Emergency Rescue Centre to the scene to work with local personnel in aiding trapped residents, the report said.
Video clips circulating on Chinese social media platforms showed brown dust billowing at the scene after the landslide, with people fleeing for safety while shouting, “Quick, quick! Get out, get out!”

Drone footage showed the vastness of the area covered by the massive landslide, with homes and shops buried, and smoke rising from the scene.
Rescuers are racing against time as thunderstorms and strong winds are forecast for Chongqing later on Friday and into Saturday, making their work more challenging.
A local furniture seller surnamed Pu said he had not heard from three sales assistants in his shop which had been buried by the landslide.
“I tried calling them right after I heard about the landslide at about 10am. None of them picked up. I am very worried now,” said Pu when reached by the South China Morning Post.

Pu, who is now in an evacuation centre, said several buildings, most of them five or six storeys high, had been crushed and buried by huge rocks and masses of mud. He said he was not sure how many people were still in the buildings as evacuation efforts were ongoing.
Hundreds of rescuers in different uniforms and dozens of fire engines and ambulances had arrived at the scene, he said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Water Resources activated a Level 4 emergency response for flood prevention, the lowest level, in Chongqing, Hubei, Hunan and Guizhou, which are forecast to receive heavy to torrential rain from Saturday to Tuesday, according to CCTV.


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In a social media video grab, landslide debris is seen from the street after buildings collapsed in Chongqing on Friday. Photo: Social media via Reuters

A social media video taken in Chongqing shows people running away from a cloud of dust rising as buildings collapse due to a landslide. Photo: social media via Reuters

Rescuers search for survivors at the site of a landslide along the Wujiang River in Pengshui Miao and Tujia autonomous county, Chongqing, on July 17. Photo: cnsphoto via Reuters

Local officials said they witnessed rockfalls before the landslide. Photo: Xinhua

An aerial drone photo taken on July 17 shows rescuers working at the site of a rainfall-induced landslide along a section of the Wujiang River in southwest China’s Chongqing municipality. Photo: Xinhua

Hundreds of rescuers are racing against time to rescue Chongqing residents in southwestern China who were trapped under a landslide on Friday morning. Photo: Xinhua

An aerial photograph shows the rain-induced landslide that has trapped citizens and destroyed buildings. Photo: Xinhua

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Rescuers marshal students in the evacuation operation. Photo: X@SpoxCHN_MaoNing

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Beijing allocates US$7.4 million for rescue and relief as equipment, including life search gear and slope radar, is sent to disaster zone


Beijing allocates US$7.4 million for rescue and relief as equipment, including life search gear and slope radar, is sent to disaster zone.


Rescuers in China race to reach residents trapped by landslide that has killed 8 people

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Beijing allocates US$7.4 million for rescue and relief as equipment, including life search gear and slope radar, is sent to disaster zone

Beijing allocates US$7.4 million for rescue and relief as equipment, including life search gear and slope radar, is sent to disaster zone