Rescuers in race to find survivors
Print Edition
SEVEN people were confirmed dead in a landslide that hit a village in east China’s Zhejiang Province on Wednesday, local authorities said yesterday.
Rescuers retrieved four bodies at the scene yesterday, bringing the death toll to seven, the provincial information office said in a press release.
As of yesterday afternoon, 15 people had been rescued and 20 others remained missing.
Rainstorms triggered by Typhoon Megi caused about 400,000 cubic meters of debris to slide down nearby mountains, burying 20 houses in Sucun, a village in Suichang County. More than 1,460 residents living nearby have been evacuated.
Hu Gang, executive vice county governor of Suichang, told reporters that more than 4,000 people, with the help of 43 life detecting devices, four drones and 180 excavators and rescue vehicles, are racing against time to reach those still missing.
Hua Suping, Party chief of the village, said the landslide began while residents were being persuaded to relocate.
Psychologists have been sent to temporary shelters to offer counseling to villagers who have been relocated.
A restaurant in Suichang County stayed open overnight to provide free noodles for rescuers.
A firefighter who had been working more than 24 hours told reporters they could not stop the rescue work. “A little more persistence from rescuers will bring more opportunities to find survivors,” he said.
Xia Baolong, secretary of the Party’s provincial committee, arrived at the village yesterday morning to take command of rescue efforts and comfort those affected by the tragedy.
Xia urged rescuers to make every effort to find the missing and cautioned them to avoid secondary disasters.
Local authorities have received 2.1 million yuan (US$314,700) in donations after the deadly landslide.
Meanwhile, Typhoon Megi claimed 10 lives on China’s mainland, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said yesterday.
Five deaths were reported in east China’s Zhejiang Province and five were reported in southeast China’s Fujian Province, the ministry said.
As of 9am yesterday, about 2.09 million people had been affected as the impact of the typhoon spread to 16 cities in three provinces — Zhejiang, Fujian and Jiangxi.
About 656,000 residents have been relocated and nearly 700 are in urgent need of basic living supplies, the ministry said.
Megi, the 17th typhoon this year, made landfall in Fujian on Wednesday, and brought heavy downpours and landslides in many areas.
The typhoon destroyed homes and crops and caused direct economic losses estimated at 5.53 billion yuan (US$829 million), the ministry said.
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