Landslides strike Zhouqu County, China

At midnight on Sunday, August 8th, a temporary lake caused by a recent landslide broke loose above the town of Zhouqu, in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, China. The outflow slid down the valley as a wall of mud, wiping out houses and muli-story buildings, and killing at least 1,144 residents – with over 600 still reported as missing. More than 10,000 soldiers and rescuers arrived soon to comb through the mountains of mud that buried several parts of Zhouqu County. Engineers also worked to blast the debris that had passed through the town to partially block the Bailong River, causing further flooding. Collected here are images of the landslide-affected area of northwestern China, part of a series of disasters in Asia caused by recent heavy rains. (41 photos total)

Landslides strike Zhouqu County, China – The Big Picture – Boston.com

New Mudslides Raise Death Toll in China – NYTimes.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/14/world/asia/14china.html?_r=1

New Mudslides Raise Death Toll in China

By KEVIN DREW

Published: August 13, 2010

Rain-triggered mudslides across China have pushed up the death toll from China’s worst flooding in a decade and left thousands trapped, state media reported on Friday. In southwestern Sichuan Province, a mudslide killed at least five people and trapped more than 500 others, the Xinhua state news agency reported. Farther north in Gansu Province, the number of dead and missing was raised after new floodwaters surged through the region, Xinhua reported. In the city of Longnan 10 people died, 12 were reported missing and 10,000 trapped by floodwaters, the local government said in a statement, Xinhua reported. In Tianshui, four people died and eight were missing, Xinhua said.

Local authorities earlier had raised the death toll in Gansu Province from a huge mudslide to 1,144 people, Xinhua said.

In Shaanxi Province, flooding has affected an estimated 100,000 people and forced the evacuation of 4,600 people, Xinhua said. Heavy rainfall on Thursday in the three provinces caused the new mudslides, authorities told Xinhua. Flooding across China has affected 28 provinces and caused more than $30 billion in damage.