Beijing pledges US$4.4 million for disaster relief after landslide kills 13 people in Guizhou

A disaster relief fund worth 30 million yuan (US$4.4 million) was pledged by the Chinese government to Guizhou province on Wednesday after 13 people were killed and dozens went missing when a landslide hit a village, state media reported.

Rocks and mud buried 21 houses in Pingdi village, Shuicheng county, at about 9.20pm on Tuesday after a week of heavy rain, state news agency Xinhua reported.

By Wednesday evening, 13 bodies had been recovered, 11 people being treated for their injuries in hospital, and 32 were missing, provincial officials said.

President Xi Jinping pledged to fully support the rescue and recovery efforts, ordering local officials to improve monitoring and early warning systems, the Ministry of Emergency Management said on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter.

The ministries of emergency management and finance jointly allocated 30 million yuan to the government of Guizhou, one of China’s most poverty stricken areas, for disaster relief.

The landslide lasted several minutes and was estimated to involve about 2 million cubic metres (70.6 million cubic feet) of mud and rock up to five metres (16 feet) thick in places.

Local authorities said six of the 27 houses in the path of the landslide escaped damage, and that many residents had been at work outside the village.

Landslide in northern China destroys homes, leaving 7 dead

More than 800 rescuers, 20 diggers and 100 other vehicles were sent to help with the recovery operation, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

As rescue efforts continued on Wednesday, progress was hampered by more rain and the threat of further landslides, the report said.