Four Dead, Eight Missing in China Landslide After Heavy Rain

AFP/APP

Beijing: A landslide triggered by unusually heavy rainfall has killed four people and left eight others missing in northern China’s Hebei province, state media reported on Monday, as torrential downpours continue to force thousands to evacuate.

The landslide occurred in a village near Chengde City and was caused by intense rainfall, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

China’s national emergency management department has dispatched a team to assess the “severe” flooding in Hebei, which surrounds the capital, Beijing.

Large parts of northern China have been inundated in recent days. In Hebei alone, record rainfall killed two people on Saturday, state media reported. In Fuping County, more than 4,600 residents were evacuated over the weekend.

In neighboring Shanxi province, 13 people went missing and one was rescued after a bus accident linked to the flooding, CCTV said. Footage from the broadcaster showed submerged roads and flooded crop fields in Shanxi on Sunday.

In Beijing’s Miyun district, over 3,000 people were evacuated due to torrential rain. Authorities said the area’s reservoir recorded its highest inflow since its construction over 60 years ago.

On Monday, AFP journalists in Mujiayu—a town just south of the reservoir witnessed power lines swept away by muddy currents, while military vehicles and ambulances navigated flooded roads. A nearby river had overflowed, washing away trees and submerging farmlands.

Authorities have issued China’s second-highest rainstorm warning and the highest-level flood alert, according to state news agency Xinhua. The heavy downpours are expected to continue until Tuesday morning.