A landslide in southwestern China's mountainous Yunnan province on early Monday buried at least 47 people amid freezing temperatures and falling snow.
The disaster struck just before 6 am in the village of Liangshui.
China Landslide Buries 47 Villagers
This picture taken on August 7, 2014 shows rescue workers searching for victims in the debris in Ganjiazhai village, buried by landslide during the earthquake, in Longtoushan township of Ludian county in Zhaotong, southwest China's Yunnan province. The death toll from an earthquake that devastated a remote region of China has killed 615 people, state media said, as hopes of finding any more survivors faded. (not the actual photo)
On Monday, a CCTV showed that about 18 households were buried, and more than 200 people were evacuated. The authorities launched an emergency response and deployed more than 200 rescue workers with dozens of fire engines and other equipment.
Landslides are commonplace in Yunnan, a remote region of China where steep mountain ranges butt against the Himalayan plateau. Monday's disaster happened in a remote area surrounded by towering peaks dusted with snow.
According to The Guardian, temperatures in Zhenxiong hovered at around -4C on Monday morning. A local broadcaster's online footage showed rescue personnel searching among the debris of fallen masonry, wearing orange jumpsuits and helmets amid towering mountains dusted with snow.
The authorities confirmed no immediate reports of deaths or injuries. Luo Dongmei, a 35-year-old villager, said she was asleep when the landslide occurred. But she survived and was taken to a school by local authorities.
"I was asleep, but my brother knocked on the door and woke me up. They said there was a landslide, and the bed was shaking, so they rushed upstairs and woke us up," Luo said.
She added that Luo, her husband, and their three children have received meals at the school. However, they said they needed blankets and other protection from the cold. Furthermore, Luo shared that she could not contact her sister and aunt, who lived closer to the site of the landslide. She said that the only thing she could do was to wait.
The Yunnan landslide also came just over a month after the strongest earthquake to ever strike China in the northwest, in a remote area between the provinces of Gansu and Qinghai.
Last week, rescuers evacuated tourists from a remote skiing area in northwestern China where dozens of avalanches triggered by heavy snow trapped more than 1,000 people for a week. The avalanches shut down routes, leaving locals and visitors stranded in a town near China's borders with Mongolia, Russia, and Kazakhstan.
China's Extreme Weather Events
In recent months, China has seen several natural disasters, some caused by extreme weather conditions such as sudden heavy downpours.
In September, rainstorms in Guangxi's southern area caused a mountain landslide that claimed the lives of at least seven people.
Furthermore, a landslide in the remote and hilly southwest province of Sichuan killed 19 people in June. In August, heavy rains caused a similar disaster near the northern city of Xi'an, killing over 20 people.
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