13 missing after landslide blankets village

Thirteen villagers were reported missing after the landslide hit the village Xujiaping Mianning County of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture around 5 am, the office of local emergency response.

The missing are three families whose houses were crushed in the avalanche, the bureau said, adding that rescue teams equipped with heavy machinery County continues the search through the rubble.

Meanwhile, in Guang'an, the easternmost city of Sichuan, the most severe flood that hit the city since 1847 began to retreat from the afternoon of Tuesday.

"The water level is expected to be below the alert early Wednesday and urban areas will be free of flood water," said Li Junmin, deputy head of the flood control district of Guang ' an.

As a result of excessive rainfall in the upper reaches of Qujiang River, the river section Guang'an witnessed a sharp rise in water level on Sunday.

At 10 am on Monday, the water level had surpassed 25.8 meters, 9 meters above the warning line, before beginning to recede.

At 2 pm on Tuesday, the floodwater had receded by 4.3 meters and the water level is expected to go under 16.8 meters by 3 am on Wednesday.

"It was the worst flooding in more than 160 years. Most of the city were flooded. In some areas the water was more than 9 feet deep. But there are no reports of casualties," said Yuan Xianfeng, head of Advertising Guang'an city party committee.

"When the provincial meteorological bureau said on Saturday that there would be excessive rains, the Guang'an city government had prepared to relocate people in low-lying areas," he told China Daily.

The government had evacuated 230,000 people and displaced from their family homes or schools of the city and government buildings or government-provided tents.

Hong Kong Long, a farmer from the village of Huba, city Hu'an, who moved to a tent, said: "The government has provided instant noodles and bottled water for all flood victims."

The flood, which flooded some 50 streets of the city, has affected 480,000 people, 65 200 houses damaged, 46 bridges and 212 electric power and communication services and destroyed 41 kilometers of roads.

"The direct economic loss is 4. 6 billion yuan ($ 676 million)," said Yuan.