Dozens Buried by China Landslide: What to Know

A landslide in southwestern China on Monday buried dozens of villagers, leaving at least two dead, and forced more than 500 others to evacuate, according to reports by state media.

Xinhua reported that the landslide occurred in a village within Zhaoxiong City in Yunnan province at around 5:51 a.m. local time. The Yunnan Provincial Fire and Rescue Corps immediately dispatched 812 personnel and 45 dogs to begin search and rescue efforts for at least 47 people missing across 18 different households, according to the China National Fire and Rescue Administration’s social media. China Global Television Network later reported that two deaths were confirmed, while China Central Television reported that two people with injuries have been pulled from the rubble and are being treated in hospital.

It’s not clear what caused the landslide, though videos shared online show the area covered in snow.

Yunnan and the rest of southern China are expected to have intense and widespread snowfall, according to the National Meteorological Center, as the country faces its first cold wave of the year with temperatures sinking to below freezing.

The landslide occurred just over a month after China experienced its deadliest earthquake in years on Dec. 18 in the northwestern Gansu province—which left 149 people dead, about a thousand injured, and more than 14,000 homes destroyed.

Landslides are common in Yunnan, a remote and underdeveloped mountainous region. In January 2013, 46 people died in a landslide in Zhenxiong County. And in October 2012, 19 people—including 18 children—died after a landslide buried a primary school in Yiliang County.