The National Commission for Disaster Prevention, Reduction, and Relief and the Ministry of Emergency Management have activated a Level-II national disaster relief emergency response, the second-highest in China's four-tier natural disaster relief system. This response is reserved for major and extremely serious disasters and was activated after a mudslide in Nepal caused casualties at the Gyirong border port in southwest China's Xizang autonomous region on Wednesday morning.

A mudslide caused significant casualties and left people missing at the Gyirong border port in Gyirong county, Shigatse, in Xizang, around 10:30 am on Wednesday. This prompted China to dispatch 574 rescue personnel, allocate 30,000 disaster relief supplies, and earmark 120 million yuan in central disaster relief funds for emergency response and rescue work.

Following the disaster, the Ministry of Emergency Management immediately coordinated rescue and relief efforts and sent a work team to the site to assist with the emergency response. The rescue forces include 249 personnel from the national comprehensive fire and rescue force and 325 engineering rescuers from China Anneng Group, PowerChina, and other units, who were dispatched with equipment. Specialized equipment, including emergency communication support systems and aeromagnetic detection devices, has also been sent to the disaster area to support on-site communications, search operations, and rescue work.

The Ministry of Natural Resources also activated a Level-II geological disaster prevention response at 3 pm on Wednesday and sent a work team to the site to guide rescue operations and help guard against secondary geological disasters. The ministry urged the Xizang regional natural resources department to immediately send an expert team to assist local authorities with search and rescue, emergency response, and technical support. It also called for increased inspections, monitoring, early warning, and prevention work against similar geological risks.

The China Geological Survey and the ministry's technical guidance center for geological disasters have been asked to strengthen expert coordination, consultation, and risk assessment to provide full technical support for front-line rescue work.

Together with the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, authorities allocated 30,000 central disaster relief supplies, including tents, heating stoves, clothing, quilts, folding beds, and moisture-proof mats, to support the relocation and resettlement of affected residents.

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Emergency Management urgently pre-allocated 120 million yuan ($17.9 million) in central natural disaster relief funds to support Xizang in emergency rescue and relief work. The funds will be used mainly for search and rescue, relocation and resettlement of affected residents, risk removal, emergency response, and the repair of damaged homes to minimize disaster losses and casualties.

Weather conditions may add pressure to rescue work. From Wednesday evening to Sunday, most parts of Gyirong county are forecast to see light to moderate rain or thunderstorms, while some low-altitude townships in the south may experience heavy rain, local meteorological authorities said. Low-altitude areas of the county face a heightened risk of rain-triggered disasters, with mountain torrents, mudslides, and landslides possible in some places. Thunderstorms, gales, hail, and short-term heavy rainfall are also likely from afternoon to night in various areas, posing further disaster risks, local meteorological authorities said. The Xizang regional meteorological bureau has entered a special working mode and is updating weather forecasts every two hours to support front-line disaster relief operations.

Chinese authorities have mobilized emergency relief materials to support rescue and resettlement work in Xizang autonomous region after a cross-border debris flow caused a large number of casualties and missing persons.

At around 10:30 am on Wednesday, a debris flow occurred on the Nepalese side of the border, which continued across into Gyirong Port in Gyirong county, Shigatse.

Since then, the Office of the National Committee for Disaster Reduction and Relief, the Ministry of Emergency Management, together with the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, has allocated 30,000 items of central government disaster relief supplies to the affected area.

The materials include tents, heating stoves, quilts and clothes, folding beds, moisture-proof mats and other daily necessities and disaster-rescue equipment, which will support the resettlement of affected residents and aid targeted disaster assistance work.

Also on Wednesday, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Emergency Management allocated 120 million yuan ($18 million) in natural disaster relief funds to support Xizang. The focus is on search and rescue operations, relocating and resettling affected residents, eliminating hazards, and repairing damaged homes.

The National Development and Reform Commission allocated 100 million yuan on Wednesday to support the emergency restoration and reconstruction of infrastructure and other facilities in the disaster-affected areas.

KATHMANDU - As many as 384 tourists, including 291 foreigners, have been reported missing after a massive flash flood swept through north Nepal's Rasuwa district, the Nepal Tourism Board said on Wednesday.

Sunil Sharma, spokesperson at the board, said the missing foreign tourists were from India, Australia, the Netherlands, the United States, Malaysia, Britain and South Africa, among others.

BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered all-out efforts to search and rescue people who are missing after a mudslide in Nepal caused casualties at Gyirong border port in Southwest China's Xizang autonomous region on Wednesday morning.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, called for efforts to evacuate residents at risk and provide timely medical treatment to the injured to minimize casualties.

He made the instructions after a mudslide occurred at around 10:30 am on Wednesday in Nepal, which caused severe casualties and left people unaccounted for at Gyirong border port in Gyirong county.

Xi also stressed the need to strengthen monitoring and early warning, ensure scientific rescue operations and guard against secondary disasters.

Noting that China is currently in a critical period of flood control, he urged local authorities and relevant departments to prepare for worst-case scenarios and extreme situations, fully implement measures for flood and typhoon prevention, and step up efforts to identify and address potential risks and hazards.

He demanded resolute action to prevent major and catastrophic disasters and accidents and safeguard people's lives and property.

Premier Li Qiang also issued instructions, calling for an immediate verification of the number of the missing and affected people and for all-out rescue and relief efforts.

Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, instructed the Foreign Ministry to strengthen communication and coordination with relevant countries, promptly share information and work together to properly handle rescue and relief efforts.

Vice-Premier Zhang Guoqing, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, led officials from relevant departments to the site to guide rescue and disaster-response operations.

Authorities in Xizang have mobilized forces to carry out search and rescue operations. All relevant operations are underway.

A landslide struck near Gyirong Port in Southwest China's Xizang autonomous region on Wednesday and some people may be missing, according to local authorities.

The county-level emergency management bureau in Gyirong, administered by Shigatse, said the landslide occurred near the border port, which serves as a major land crossing between China and Nepal.

Access roads, telecommunications, and power supply on the Chinese side have been cut off, the bureau said.

Emergency response teams have been mobilized to the affected area. Further details are being verified as rescue operations continue.