A landslide occurred early Monday in Yunnan province, China, burying 47 people in the village of Liangshui. Two casualties have been confirmed, with 200 others evacuated amid freezing temperatures and falling snow. The landslide struck around 6 a.m. local time, affecting 18 houses. Rescue efforts are underway, hindered by snow and freezing conditions. Survivor Luo Dongmei, 35, recounted being awakened by her brother due to the landslide. She, along with her husband and three children, was relocated to a school but awaits blankets and protection from the cold.
Last week, heavy snow triggered dozens of avalanches in northwestern China, trapping over 1,000 people in a skiing area. The avalanches blocked roads in Altay prefecture, Xinjiang region, leading to a week-long stranded situation. Landslides, often linked to rain or unsafe construction, are not uncommon in China. In 2023, over 70 people died in landslides, including 50 at an open pit mine in Inner Mongolia. Natural disasters in China last year caused 691 deaths or disappearances and economic losses of $48 billion.
Minister of Emergency Management Wang Xiangxi is on-site to guide rescue operations. The Yunnan landslide follows China’s most powerful earthquake in years, a magnitude 6.2 temblor on Dec. 18, which killed at least 149 people in a remote region between Gansu and Qinghai province. The earthquake destroyed homes, triggered mudslides, and injured nearly 1,000 people, marking China’s deadliest quake in nine years.
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