A rescue team clears debris after a flash flood killed 23 people in Datong Hui and Tu Autonomous County, Northwest China's Qinghai Province, on August 18, 2022. Photo: VCG

The mountain flash flood disaster hitting Datong Hui and Tu Autonomous County in Northwest China's Qinghai Province was mainly caused by sudden heavy rains, with 23 people killed and 8 missing as of 8 pm Friday. The region has seen accumulated rainfall in August exceeding average levels seen over the last 50 years, according to the authorities. The rescue efforts are continuing.

Datong county was hit by sudden heavy rain at 10:25 pm on Wednesday. At around 12 am on Thursday, two townships were hit by heavy rainfall, triggering flash floods and mud-rock flows, causing river overflowing, with six villages with 6,245 residents being affected, Han Xianghui, vice head of the provincial emergency management department, said at Friday's press briefing.

The attendees at the press briefing stood in silence in tribute to the victims in the disaster. 

So far, 23 people who were previously reported as missing have been rescued, but there are still 8 missing; at least two buildings were washed away and 14 buildings were damaged, and other damaged houses, roads, bridges and river ways are under further investigation, said Han.

Firefighters were conducting a thorough search and rescue effort with the help of unmanned aerial vehicles and search and rescue dogs in order to save more people, according to the latest videos released by the official Weibo account of the Qinghai fire department on Friday.

So far, the Xining fire department has cleaned up more than 140 cubic meters of silt and shrubs. They have also used radar and audio-visual life detectors to search 34 households. No trapped people were found, but 41 dead livestock were found, which will be disposed of later, according to media reports.

Communication has been restored in some parts of Qingshan township, and search and rescue work is continuing.

A total of 200 armed police from the Xining branch have also been dispatched to search the areas along the Shadai river which have been affected by the floods, according to media reports citing an official.

The authorities disclosed the major reasons of the flood based on initial investigations. The soil in the region has been saturated due to continuous rainfall recently, as the cumulative rainfall in one of the flood-hit township - Qinglin -- has reached 114 millimeters since August, above the average level in the same period in 50 years, said the official. High-intensity rainfall over a short duration caused secondary disasters including mountain flood and mud-rock flows, according to Han.

The rainfall lasted for about one hour, and the two townships - Qingshan and Qinglin - hit hard by the flood have seen the rainfall of about 34.6 millimeters and 39.3 millimeters, which was with high-intensity, according to the authorities.

Also, the sudden heavy rains caused a sudden increase in river flow to about 100 cubic meters in Qingshan township, leading the mountain flood disaster, said Han.

Temporary shelters have been established at two schools to accommodate 1,249 residents so far, and more than 5,000 items of supplies for rescue including tents, medicine and mineral water have been allocated, said the authorities.

More than 4,500 people including firemen, police, medical staff and villagers have participated in the rescue work.

A total of 107 vehicles with 604 firefighters and eight search and rescue dogs from Qinghai fire stations rushed to the scene after the disaster, and two vehicles with 10 firefighters and six dogs from Northwest China's Gansu Province also went to the scene, according to media reports.

Most of the regions in Qinghai Province will have moderate to heavy rain in the next five days, according to the weather forecast.

The Ministry of Emergency Management has led a working group to Qinghai to guide the rescue work and urged preparations for sufficient medical resources for the injured, as well as strengthening flood monitoring and forecasting, and implementing early warnings and response mechanisms to prevent secondary disasters. 

China initiated a state level-three emergency response to natural disasters on Thursday after the flood hit Datong.

China's Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Emergency Management on Thursday earmarked 50 million yuan ($7.37 million) of disaster relief funds for the rescue work in Qinghai.

Global Times