1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
Israel-HamasUkraineLGBTQ+ rights
CatastropheChina

China: Xi'an mudslide leaves 21 dead

August 13, 2023

Six people were still missing and two houses were destroyed, according to local emergency authorities. China has seen particularly heavy rain and severe flooding in this summer.

https://p.dw.com/p/4V7L4
Rescue workers overlooking aftermath of mudslide in Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
A mudslide that hit the city of Xi'an in northwestern China has killed 21, with another six people still missingImage: Zhang Bin/AP/picture alliance

The death toll from a mudslide that hit the northwestern Chinese city of Xi'an rose to 21 on Sunday, authorities said.

Six people were still missing, according to the Xi'an Emergency Management Bureau.

The mudslide destroyed two houses and cut power to 90 homes, the authority said in a statement on the WeChat social network.

Emergency authorities said that 980 people with dogs were looking for remaining missing people.

State-owned broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) earlier reported that Friday's mudslide left a total of 18 people dead or missing.

Aftermath of mudslide in Xi'an, China
980 people with dogs were looking for remaining missing people in mudslide-stricken Xi'anImage: Zou Jingyi/AP/picture alliance

China sees storms, flooding, landslides

China has seen particularly heavy rain and severe flooding in this summer. According to China's government, 142 people were killed by flooding and landslides in July.

China's State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters and the Ministry of Emergency Management held a special meeting on Sunday to discuss flood prevention and other emergency measures. Badly-affected areas included Liaoning and Tianjin in the northwest and Shaanxi and Chongqing in the center, authorities said.

Typhoon Khanun weakened into a tropical depression on Friday night after it made landfall in Liaoning.

CCTV said that there was still flooding risk in low-lying cities. 17,859 people had been evacuated from the city of Anshan in Liaoning, it reported.

On Saturday morning, a supercell storm formed in the northwestern Xinjiang region.

sdi/jcg (Reuters, AP)