Mudslide in north-western Chinese city leaves 21 dead and six missing

A mudslide in China’s north-western city of Xi’an has killed 21 people, with six still missing, officials said on Sunday.

The city’s emergency management authority released an update on the number of casualties from Friday’s disaster as China grappled with unusually high summer rainfall.

The state-owned broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) had earlier reported that 18 people were dead or missing, with two confirmed casualties.

A video released by the country’s official Xinhua news agency showed broken trees and rubble piling up along muddy roads in a village, with houses and infrastructure damaged or destroyed.

The mudslide destroyed two houses and cut power to 900 households, the city’s authority said in a statement on its WeChat account.

China has been dealing with rainfall caused by Typhoon Khanun, which has pounded parts of Japan and South Korea. The typhoon weakened into a tropical depression when it made landfall in China’s north-eastern Liaoning province on Friday night.

CCTV said rain still posed flooding risks to low-lying cities including Ansha, in Liaoning, where 17,859 people had been evacuated.

Overnight rainfall in Liaoning peaked at 52mm (2in) an hour, with four reservoirs exceeding flood limits, the broadcaster said.

China’s ministry of emergency management, working with the state flood control and drought relief headquarters, held a special meeting on Sunday to discuss flood prevention and emergency response measures in badly affected provinces including Liaoning, Shaanxi, Tianjin and Chongqing, CCTV reported.

Typhoon Khanun came as the country was reeling from the impact of Typhoon Doksuri, which lashed northern China with torrential rain and flooding after it made landfall on 28 July.

Warmer temperatures have also fuelled powerful convective weather in many parts of China during an unusually wet summer.

On Saturday morning, a supercell storm formed in China’s north-western region of Xinjiang. A video posted by the People’s Daily newspaper showed thick swirling clouds hanging low above the ground, darkening the sky. One commentator said in the video: “The force of nature is irresistible.”