
Flash floods kill at least 10 people and leave 33 missing in northwestern China
Heavy rains since Thursday had triggered flash floods and at least one landslide in mountainous areas near the city of Lanzhou, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
The downpour knocked out power and telecommunications services in the Xinglong Mountain area, stranding more than 4,000 people across four villages.
Three people were missing after a landslide in the village of Maliantan in Yuzhong County late Thursday.
Maximum rainfall in the area had reached 195 millimeters (7.7 inches) by early Friday, according to Lanzhou local authorities.
Chinese President Xi Jinping urged all-out rescue and flood prevention efforts.
Several parts of China are being battered by heavy rains. In the southern metropolis of Guangzhou, seven people died and seven others were injured after a flood-triggered landslide buried homes in the city's northern Baiyun district Wednesday.
In Zhengzhou, the capital of the central Henan province, local authorities shut down schools, offices and factories and closed traffic in parts of the city, which saw catastrophic floods that killed at least 292 people in 2021.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


BBC News
9 hours ago
- BBC News
Uttarakhand flash floods: One dead, 66 still missing as rescue efforts continue
At least 66 people are still missing a week after flash floods hit the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, according to an official one body has been recovered so far, the statement added, revising an earlier death toll of four. Nearly half of Dharali village was submerged on 5 August in a mudslide caused by heavy rains and flash floods. An army camp nearby also suffered extensive operations are continuing at the site of the disaster as workers search for missing people. The work has been affected by inclement weather and the blockage of a key highway near the site due to the mudslide. Weeks of heavy rain have pounded Uttarakhand, with Uttarkashi region - home to Dharali village - among the worst hit by 1,300 people have been rescued from near Dharali since last week, officials rains last week had led to the swelling of the Kheerganga river in the region, sending tonnes of muddy waters gushing downwards on the hilly terrain, covering roads, buildings and shops in Dharali and nearby Harsil showed a giant wave of water gushing through the area, crumpling buildings in its path, giving little time for people to chief minister and other officials initially said the flash floods were caused by a cloudburst, but India's weather department has not confirmed this. Vinay Shankar Pandey, a senior local official, said a team of 10 geologists has been sent to the village to determine the cause of the flash sludge from Kheerganga blocked a part of the region's main river Bhagirathi [which becomes India's holiest river Ganges once it travels downstream] and created an artificial lake, submerging vast tracts of land, including a government workers are still trying to drain the lake, which had initially receded but filled up again after more Pandey said in a statement that a list of missing people included 24 Nepalese workers, 14 locals, nine army personnel and 13 and six individuals from the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, however, have told reporters that more people from the area are still unaccounted for. Rescue officials are using helicopters to reach Dharali, which is still blocked by debris.A temporary bridge has also been built to allow easier access as workers continue to try and clear the blocked roads."Efforts are continuously being made to remove the debris and construct roads in Dharali to restore order," Mr Pandey dogs and earth-moving machinery are searching for those trapped beneath the rubble.A rescue worker told the Press Trust of India that they were manually digging through the debris where a hotel had stood before the disaster hit. "There was some movement of people in front of it when the disaster struck. The debris here is being dug manually with the help of radar equipment as people might be buried here," he Monday, a road-repair machine near Kheerganga plunged into a swollen river; its driver is missing, and the machine remains weather department has predicted heavy rains and thunderstorms for various parts of Uttarakhand till 14 August with high alerts issued for eight districts, including Garhwal.


Reuters
a day ago
- Reuters
Hundreds evacuated in northwestern Turkey as authorities fight wildfires
ISTANBUL, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Firefighters in Turkey are battling wildfires in the centre of the northwestern province of Canakkale, fanned by strong winds, and hundreds of residents have evacuated in precaution, local authorities and media said on Monday. Airplanes, helicopters, vehicles and around 700 personnel are fighting against the blazes, city governor Omer Toraman said in a post on X. Authorities also launched precautionary evacuations in areas at risk including a university campus, military area and residential areas and urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel to keep roads clear from traffic for emergency vehicles. The city's airport, the Dardanelles Strait, as well as a part of the highway were shut due to the wildfires, and local television footage showed huge plumes of smoke billowing over the hills. Water-spraying police vehicles were extinguishing blazes that spread to some residential buildings in the area according to footage from Anadolu news agency. Temperatures in the region reached 33 degrees Celsius with a wind speed reaching up to 66 kilometers per hour, according to Turkey's meteorological service. Some 50 people were affected by smoke and were treated at nearby medical facilities, with no life-threatening conditions, the governor said.


Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
Shock footage of China floods from above: At least 15 are dead and dozens missing after waters tore through
At least 15 people have died after flash floods devastated parts of China over the weekend. The floods have destroyed homes, broken roads and left dozens of people still missing. Aerial footage from Yuzhong County in China's northwestern Gansu province shows the extent of the devastation. Workers have been called in to try and repair towns where the infrastructure has been ruined. Some of the men were seen slipping in the mud that as they walk through piles of huge stones moved by the huge flow of water. Chinese President Xi Jinping urged all-out rescue and flood prevention efforts. The villages of Maliantan and Xinyaowanshe were nearly obliterated by the huge power of the water. One witness likened the floods to 'a train roaring through the mountains' as the sound of crashing boulders came through their village, 24 Brussels reported. The area of Xinglongshan, popular among hikers and outdoor enthusiasts has also become covered by one metre of mud, cutting off access to walking routes. Entire communities have reportedly been cut off after more thn 100 kilometres of road became impassible and five bridges were destroyed. Some 37 villages have also been plunged into darkness after around seven power lines were damaged. More than 2,500 homes have been damaged or destroyed as a result of the flooding Rescuers told local media they were working 'around the clock' to support some of the most isolated communities, adding 'every hour counts when lives are at stake'. Local media also reported that workers manage to rescue a dog which had been trapped under mud for over 30 hours. Owing to the 'frequent occurrence of extreme weather,' Xi ordered all regions to 'resolutely overcome complacency' while increasing efforts to identify risks. Heavy rains which have continued since Thursday also caused at least one landslide in mountainous areas near the city of Lanzhou, according to state broadcaster CCTV. Rescuers search through debris for missing people at a village hit by mountain torrents The downpour knocked out power and telecommunications services in the Xinglong Mountain area, stranding more than 4,000 people across four villages. Three people were missing after a landslide in the village of Maliantan in Yuzhong County late Thursday. Maximum rainfall in the area had reached 195 millimeters (7.7 inches) by early Friday, according to Lanzhou local authorities. Several parts of China are being battered by heavy rains. In the southern metropolis of Guangzhou, seven people died and seven others were injured after a flood-triggered landslide buried homes in the city's northern Baiyun district Wednesday. In Zhengzhou, the capital of the central Henan province, local authorities shut down schools, offices and factories and closed traffic in parts of the city, which saw catastrophic floods that killed at least 292 people in 2021. Beijing's top economic planner has allocated 100 million yuan ($14 million) towards disaster relief in Gansu. Authorities also announced a yellow alert on Saturday for torrential rains and activated a flood response plan in the provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei and Chongqing, CCTV said. China's south has also experienced torrential downpours this week, with tens of thousands of people evacuated across Guangdong. Rescue workers said they were working around the clock to support people affected by the floods Rescuers search for missing people at a village hit by mountain torrents Wrokers attempt to build a makeshift bridge over a fast flowing river. Five bridges in the area were destroyed in the deluge In the last two weeks, heavy rain has caused chaos in northern China, with torrential downpours causing landslides and flooding across the region. The capital Beijing was hit by floods which killed 44people, after more than 80,000 were evacuated in late July. The death toll was highest in Miyun, a suburban district northeast of the city centre. Natural disasters are common across China, particularly in the summer when some regions experience heavy rain while others bake in searing heat. China is the world's biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases that scientists say drive climate change and contribute to making extreme weather more frequent and intense. But it is also a global renewable energy powerhouse that aims to make its massive economy carbon-neutral by 2060.