Rescuers in southwest China race extreme weather to reach residents trapped by landslide

Rescuers in southwest China race extreme weather to reach residents trapped by landslide Beijing activates a Level 2 national emergency response as heavy rainfall triggers a major landslide in Pengshui county Hundreds of rescuers are racing against incoming thunderstorms in southwestern China after a landslide struck Chongqing’s Pengshui county on Friday morning, destroying buildings and leaving residents trapped under mud and debris. The disaster is among several brought about by heavy rainfall and extreme weather to hit parts of China in recent weeks, and has resulted in senior rescue officials being sent to the scene from Beijing. Local community officials in Hanjia subdistrict of Chongqing’s Pengshui Miao and Tujia autonomous county, witnessed sporadic rockfalls and issued an emergency warning at about 8am on Friday. They rushed to evacuate more than 60 residents, according to mainland news portal thepaper.cn. The report said a large landslide occurred about an hour later, crashing through several residential buildings and trapping residents who were in the process of leaving. Nine people had been rescued by midday, and none had life-threatening injuries, the outlet said. The county government said the rescue effort was ongoing and any news of casualties would be announced later. China’s Ministry of Emergency Management activated a Level 2 national emergency response – the second-highest level – for geological disasters around noon on Friday, sending a working group led by Minister Zhang Chengzhong to guide rescue efforts at the scene, according to Xinhua. The ministry sent 100 workers and equipment from the Natural Disaster Engineering Emergency Rescue Centre to the scene to work with local personnel in aiding trapped residents, it said.