Rescuers rush to mudslide-hit border port in SW China's Xizang

LHASA -- Rescue teams are racing to a mudslide-stricken border port in southwest China's Xizang autonomous region after the disaster caused significant casualties along the China-Nepal border on Wednesday, local authorities said.

A mudslide occurred on Wednesday morning in Nepal, resulting in three people dead and 265 missing at Gyirong Port in Gyirong county of Xizang as of 8 pm, according to initial estimates.

Xizang has activated its highest-level relief and emergency response for natural disasters. The region's emergency management authority has dispatched 792 personnel and 152 vehicles for the rescue effort, while the regional fire and rescue authority has mobilized 72 vehicles and 431 firefighting and rescue personnel with rescue dogs, life scanners and speed boats to aid the effort.

The local People's Liberation Army and armed police have also sent rescue and relief teams to the scene.

As of 5:35 pm, central and regional authorities had dispatched relief supplies including 8,000 cotton coats, 2,000 tents, 3,000 quilts and 5,000 moisture-proof mats to the affected area, officials said.

The mudslide has cut off roads leading to the port on the Chinese side, as well as communications and power supplies, officials revealed, adding that the first batch of power grid repairers had arrived at the site.

On the national level, the Ministry of Natural Resources activated a Level-II emergency response for geological disasters, the second-highest in China's four-tier emergency response system, and dispatched a working team to the stricken site to guide rescue operations and prevent secondary disasters, the ministry said.

The National Commission for Disaster Prevention, Reduction and Relief, together with the Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM), helped allocate 30,000 central relief supplies including tents, stoves, clothing, quilts, folding beds and moisture-proof mats to support the evacuation, resettlement and relief work.

The Ministry of Finance and the MEM also allocated 120 million yuan (about $17.69 million) in central natural disaster relief funds to support Xizang in carrying out emergency rescue and disaster relief operations.

Meanwhile, the National Development and Reform Commission earmarked 100 million yuan in central budget investment to support post-disaster emergency recovery and reconstruction efforts.

The local meteorological observatory forecasts continued rainfall across Gyirong County from Wednesday evening through Sunday, warning of possible floods, landslides and other secondary disasters in low-lying areas.