Landslides Kill at least 44 in South China

Rain-triggered Landslides Leave 44 Dead, with 150,000 Evacuated in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, South China

Rescuers search for trapped persons in Beigeng Township, Xincheng County, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, June 3, 2010.  (Xinhua/Zhou Hua). Image may be subject to copyright. See Fire Earth Fair Use Notice.

Most of the deaths have occurred in Cenxi County,  Tengxian County, Donglan County and Fangchenggang City, the official news agency Xinhua reported.

“More than 600 residents in two villages in had been evacuated because of land subsidence Thursday. Four pits and cracks were reported near the villages, with the biggest having a diameter of more than 70 meters and depth of 20 meters.”

The subsidence may have been caused by increased water flow in underground streams caused by torrential rains, a Laibin municipal government official was quoted as saying.

Torrential rains have pummeled Guangxi region since Monday triggering large-scale landslides since early Wednesday, the report .

“Across Guangxi, the rainstorms had battered 27 counties and 144,800 people had been evacuated by 4 p.m. Thursday, the regional civil affairs bureau said.”

Some 8,123 houses have collapsed and 161,830 hectares of crops destroyed or damaged, with the damage estimated at about $180 million, the report said.

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