Aug. 13 (UPI) — At least 21 people are dead and another six are missing on Sunday after heavy rain caused flooding and mudslides in China‘s northwestern Shaanxi Province.
More than 180 people have been evacuated from Weiziping, a mountainside village on the outskirts of the province’s capital Xi’an, according to China’s state news agency Xinhua. The torrential rainfall on Friday lasted about two hours.
The heavy rush of water also caused rocks to fall, adding to the damage. Two homes were washed away and there has been substantial damage to roads, power and communications infrastructure.
Fourteen rescue teams with 980 rescuers were dispatched to the area to lead the evacuation effort and repair infrastructure. A command center has been established in Xi’an to coordinate the dispersal of equipment and rescue teams.
Three heavily damaged sections of National Highway 210 have been repaired and power has been restored to more than 850 homes, the Global Times reports.
The Xi’an meteorological center upgraded the weather event to its highest level alert on Friday.
Friday’s torrential rainfall comes just weeks after Super Typhoon Doksuri dropped 29 inches of rain on Beijing. At least 20 deaths were recorded related to the storm. In early July, at least 15 people were killed when heavy rain struck southwest China.
