China landslide kills 8, buries 47 alive as rescuers race against time

A landslide in China's mountainous southwestern province Yunnan has wreaked havoc killing at least eight and burying 47 people with 200 people having to forcefully evacuate, CNN reported.

The disaster struck just before 6 am on Monday at a time when most people were asleep in the village of Liangshui in the northeastern part of the Yunnan province. Rescue efforts are underway to find people buried under the house's rubble and snow.

More than 300 rescue workers are deployed along with dozens of fire engines and earth-moving equipment.

Last week, dozens of avalanches hit northwestern China, blocking roads, and stranding more than 1000 people, both tourists and locals in the Xinjiang region, close to China's border with Mongolia, Russia, and Kazakhstan.

Last week China’s Qinghai province was struck by a deadly 6.2 magnitude earthquake, killing 149 people and destroying more than 14000 homes. It was the most powerful earthquake to hit China in years.

All in all, according to the National Commission for Disaster Reduction and the Ministry of Emergency Management, last year natural disasters in China left 691 people dead and missing and caused direct economic losses of about 345 billion yuan equivalent to $48 billion.

The remote mountains of Yunnan are prone to landslides, due to steep slopes and unstable soil.

Much of southern China, including Yunnan, is in the middle of a cold snap, with temperatures dropping near or below freezing, according to China’s Meteorological Administration.