At least 21 people are dead and six others missing after a flash flood and landslide following torrential rains in the outskirts of northwestern China’s Xi’an city, local authorities said Sunday.
The natural disaster, which took place in a mountainside village on Friday, also caused blackouts affecting 900 households and damaged roads, bridges and communications infrastructure, according to the the Xi’an City Emergency Management Bureau.
Parts of China have seen record high temperatures and deadly flooding in recent weeks, with experts linking extreme weather around the world to climate change.
Nearly 1,000 rescue workers were deployed to Xi’an’s Weiziping village following the landslide and flash flood, with 186 people evacuated and relief efforts ongoing as of Sunday evening, authorities said. Two houses were also destroyed.
A restaurant owner in the village told state-run media outlet Cover News that a massive flow of mud and debris cascaded down the hillside in the late afternoon on Friday, sweeping away two buildings.
“Both houses were gone, and the people went missing too,” he was quoted as saying.
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