At least 21 people were killed and six others are missing from the mudslide triggered by heavy rain on the outskirts of the northwestern Chinese city of Xi’an, local authorities said on Sunday.
The mudslide and a flash flood Friday evening also damaged a highway and knocked out power to 900 households, the Xi’an Emergency Management Bureau said on its social media account.
The casualties come after heavy rainfall and floods devastated many parts of China, with some extreme weather following in the wake of Typhoon Doksuri, which made landfall in southern Fujian Province almost three weeks ago.
The actual number of casualties from such events may be much higher, and is difficult to verify, as the Chinese regime routinely suppresses or alters information.
Two houses in a village in Xi’an have been washed away and infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and power supply facilities has been damaged, state-owned China Central Television (CCTV) said on Saturday.
The Qinling Mountains in Xi’an will continue to experience extreme weather conditions, which will lead to soil erosion and possibly further mudslides, the broadcaster said.
In the capital of Beijing and the northeastern city of Harbin, some trains were suspended on Saturday due to heavy rain and strong winds, CCTV said.
In southwestern Guangxi on Friday, heavy rainfall in the city of Nanning led to urban flooding, forcing rush-hour commuters to drive vehicles and motorcycles down submerged roads, CCTV said.
In Huozhou city in the northern province of Shanxi, some low-lying houses faced stagnant water breaches, as floods from heavy rain trapped some residents in their buildings, the broadcaster said.
In the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, a flash flood swept away a road, trapping a number of people on Thursday, the state-run Xinhua News Agency said on Saturday.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
