BEIJING—A sudden rainstorm in western China triggered a landslide that diverted a river and caused flash flooding in populated areas, killing at least 16 people and leaving 18 others missing, Chinese state media said Thursday.
Rescuers, who earlier reported 36 people missing, had found 18 of them by early afternoon, state broadcaster CCTV said in an online update. The official casualties, however, may not reflect the total, given the Chinese regime has a record of downplaying and covering up information from such events.
The Wednesday night disaster affected more than 6,000 people in six villages in Qinghai province, CCTV said.
China is facing both heavy rains and flooding in some parts of the country this summer and intense heat and drought in other regions. State media have described the prolonged heat and drought as the worst since record keeping started 60 years ago….