At least 80 people killed, 2,000 missing in landslides in China’s Gansu province

80 dead, thousands missing in China landslides

BEIJING — Landslides killed at least 80 people and left an estimated 2,000 missing Sunday in northwest China’s Gansu province, the latest disaster caused by widespread flooding in the country.

The landslides happened early in the morning in the province’s Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, the official Xinhua News Agency reported, after heavy rains lashed the mountainous area.

State broadcaster China Central Television said the death toll was more than 80, and 2,000 people were missing. Power was cut in some of the affected areas in the southern part of the province, so it was not known how many of the missing were in danger or just out of contact.

The worst-hit part of Gannan was Zhouqu county, with Xinhua reporting that half of it was under water. Many houses collapsed and streets were covered with one yard (meter) of mud and water, it said.

It quoted the head of the county, Diemujiangteng, as saying the landslides happened after heavy rains lashed the country late Saturday and a river overflowed.

“Now the sludge (thick mud) has became the biggest problem to rescue operations. It’s too thick to walk or drive through,” he was quoted as saying.

CCTV said 45,000 people had been evacuated. It showed pictures of flooded streets and cars that had been washed away.

Xinhua said Premier Wen Jiabao was on his way to the disaster area.

The Lanzhou Military Area Command in the capital of the province dispatched 2,400 soldiers to help with rescue efforts.

Around China, the country’s worst flooding in a decade has killed more than 1,100 people this year, with more than 600 still missing. The floods have caused tens of billions of dollars in damage across 28 provinces and regions.

Overall this year, about 875,000 homes have been destroyed, 9.61 million people evacuated, and 22 million acres (8.76 million hectares) of crops ruined, according to the government’s flood control office.