Ministry elevates response level after landslide buries buildings, people in Chongqing

The Ministry of Natural Resources raised the geological disaster defense response to Level II on Friday after a landslide occurred in Pengshui Miao and Tujia autonomous county in Chongqing city, burying several residential buildings and trapping multiple individuals.

As of 2 pm on Friday, rescue teams had pulled out 10 people from the debris after the landslide, Xinhua News Agency reported.

In China, the emergency response for geological disaster defense is divided into four levels, and a Level II response applies to major risks, where there is a threat to the public, buried houses and the risk of missing persons.

According to the local emergency management bureau, on Friday, community workers issued an emergency warning after discovering sporadic rockfalls, and the local authorities then started to evacuate the residents. During the evacuation process, a landslide occurred at around 9 am.

After the incident, the ministry activated a Level III geological disaster defense response at 10 am. Based on the latest developments, the response was elevated to Level II at 12 pm, with officials leading the working group to the front line to enhance rescue guidance.

The ministry also called for comprehensive geological disaster inspections, monitoring, early warning and preventive measures.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Emergency Management urgently allocated 50 million yuan ($7.38 million) in central natural disaster relief funds to support Chongqing in emergency rescue operations and assistance for affected residents.

The focus is on search and rescue operations, risk elimination, secondary disaster hazard inspections, relocation and resettlement of affected residents, and the repair of damaged homes.