127 Dead in Eastern Tibet Landslides

Dhasa: 127 people are reported dead and 2,000 more are missing after devastating overnight floods and landslides hit Drugchu (Chinese name: Zhouqu), the most easterly county town of the so-called Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in Gansu Province, according to Chinese state media.

Thousands of military personnel and workers are trying to rescue those trapped under vast amounts of mud and rock, after half of Drugchu town, home to approximately 45,000 Tibetans, was submerged under water.

Xinhua, the Chinese state-controlled news agency, reports that 700 survivors have been rescued by residents whilst 45,000 have been evacuated.

Torrential rain began late on Saturday (August 7) and by last night the area was witness to the worst single flooding incident in both China and Tibet this year, as landslides flattened large expanses of land and 300 houses collapsed.

Many roads leading to the area have been cleared and power in some parts of the county has been restored. However, regional media reports predict further cloudbursts for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Another report on August 8 stated that the Red Cross Society of China has sent emergency relief worth 320,000 yuan (47,000 US dollars) to aid the relief work by its local branch.