Seven confirmed dead after landslide in China's Guangzhou

Guangzhou, Aug 8 (IANS) Seven people have been confirmed dead following a rain-triggered landslide in Guangzhou, the capital of south China's Guangdong Province, on Wednesday morning, local authorities said on Friday.

The landslide occurred at approximately 8:30 a.m. in Dayuan Village in Guangzhou's Baiyun District, trapping 14 people and damaging multiple houses, according to the district's emergency management bureau.

Rescue operations have concluded. The remaining seven people were injured and sent to the hospital. They are not in life-threatening condition, and three have already been discharged, the bureau said, Xinhua news agency reported.

On-site cleanup work is ongoing, along with geological hazard risk assessments in affected and surrounding areas. Safety inspections and evaluations of residential buildings will also be carried out to support follow-up work.

Earlier on August 5, the Ministry of Emergency Management said in a briefing that two to three typhoons were expected to make landfall in or affect China in August, the office of the national commission for disaster prevention, reduction and relief and the Ministry of Emergency Management said at a briefing.

One of the typhoons was expected to affect areas north of the Yangtze River, according to the briefing.

In August, all seven major river basins across China fully entered the main flood season of the year, the authorities said, adding that some rivers in the Haihe River, Songhua River and Liaohe River basins are at risk of major flooding.

Meanwhile, the risk of forest fires remains high across parts of the Greater Khingan Mountains, northern Xinjiang, central and southern China, and some southwestern areas.

Western Yunnan might face a heightened risk of geological disasters, while regions along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, areas between the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River, and central and northern parts of Xinjiang will be prone to heatwaves and drought, according to the briefing.

--IANS

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