A mudslide disaster occurred in Panzhihua, Sichuan, and a total of 173 people were relocated in two days.

CCTV News from Chengdu, September 20 (Reporters Wang Ying, Chang Sirong, Tang Shimin) In the early morning of September 19, a mudslide occurred near the Shijiagou Tunnel in Zhiliuhe Village, Gesala Yi Township, Yanbian County, Panzhihua City, Sichuan Province. The disaster caused the loss of five construction workers at a local highway construction site. As of 22:00 on September 19, rescuers had found two missing people who had no vital signs. The remaining three missing people were being searched and rescued with all their strength.

After the disaster occurred, the local area launched emergency response as soon as possible, organized multiple forces to carry out rescue and rescue operations, and relocated overnight. Villagers in the jurisdiction successfully evaded danger.

Disaster scene (photo by Li Hong, published by CNR)

The danger occurred in the early morning of the 19th, when raging flash floods carried debris and washed away roads, houses and engineering equipment.

The disaster scene in the evening (Photo by Li Hong, published by CCTV)

Zhiliuhe Village is located in a mountainous area with crisscrossing ravines and fragile geological conditions. When the rain first started on the evening of September 18, the local area received a geological disaster warning message. The village’s “two committees” compared the list of flash flood and geological disaster hazard points prepared in advance, and organized the evacuation of people in dangerous areas overnight through telephone notifications and door-to-door persuasion. A total of 30 villagers from 18 households who were at home were relocated that night and temporary tents were set up for proper resettlement. This mudslide destroyed the houses of three villagers. Due to the timely transfer, no villagers were injured or killed. After the disaster, the local area continued to expand the scope of relocation, with a total of 173 people relocated in two days.

Traces washed away by mudslides (Photo by Li Hong, published by CCTV)

After the disaster occurred, provincial, municipal, and county emergency, fire protection, public security, health and other departments quickly mobilized more than 200 rescue forces to rush to the scene, carrying life detectors, drones and other professional equipment for search and rescue work. The rescue team was divided into five operating teams and carried out a net-type investigation within 20 kilometers along the river where the incident occurred. They used human and dog collaborative ground search and drone aerial patrol to conduct repeated and detailed search and rescue of buried pressure points and river areas, and simultaneously organized efforts to repair damaged roads.