21 killed after flood, landslides in Xi'an

At least 21 people have been killed and six are missing after a flash flood and landslides triggered by heavy rain struck Weiziping village in the outskirts of Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, according to the city's bureau of emergency management on Sunday.

The disasters struck Weiziping in the mountainous Chang'an district shortly after 6 pm on Friday.

Two residential houses in the village were destroyed, and roads, bridges, power supply and other infrastructure were damaged. A local restaurant owner said it was dinnertime when the torrential rain hit, and some tourists were swept away by the sudden flood.

A woman surnamed Wu, who runs a homestay business in the village, told reporters she has not received any information from her family about their safety, and she is still waiting for updates from rescue personnel.

Emergency records show the Xi'an meteorological center issued an orange alert, the second highest in China's four-tier color-coded warning system for rainstorms, at 12:35 pm on Friday, and upgraded the alert to the highest level three hours later.

A team of more than 100 rescue personnel that arrived at the site on Friday night had relocated 81 people and searched 65 kilometers of river bank by Sunday morning.

By Sunday afternoon, authorities had dispatched nearly 1,000 rescuers to the village and relocated 186 people. Most of the damaged infrastructure has been repaired and reopened for service.