Rescue staff work to restore a blocked road following mountain torrents in Mapo Town, Yuzhong County of Northwest China's Gansu Province, on August 8, 2025. Mountain torrents since Thursday in Gansu have left 10 people dead and 33 missing. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged all-out search and rescue efforts, and flood control and disaster relief work after mountain torrents since Thursday in northwest China's Gansu Province have left 10 people dead and 33 missing as of 3:30 pm Friday.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, attached great importance to the situation of the disaster triggered by continuous heavy rainfall, which hit areas including Yuzhong County of Lanzhou, the provincial capital.

The immediate task is to search and rescue the missing people by every possible means, relocate and resettle residents in danger, minimize casualties, and restore communication and transportation as soon as possible, Xi instructed.

He noted that given the recent frequent occurrence of extreme weather, local authorities and relevant departments must strengthen risk forecasting and early warning, identify and rectify hidden hazards, reinforce emergency response and on-call duty arrangements, and enhance flood control and disaster relief work with targeted measures so as to ensure people's safety during the flood season.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, instructed that missing and trapped individuals must be located and rescued as soon as possible, damaged communication and transport infrastructure be promptly repaired, and disaster-affected residents be swiftly relocated and resettled. 

Noting that the country is still in the critical "July-August" flood prevention period, Li stressed that the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters should guide local governments to stay alert, fulfill their responsibilities, strengthen monitoring and early warning of rain and flooding, and minimize casualties to the greatest extent, Xinhua News Agency reported.

On Friday evening, Gansu Province held a press conference on the flash flood disaster in Yuzhong County, Lanzhou, to brief on the latest progress in rescue operations, the resettlement of affected residents, and the treatment of the injured. At the conference, all attendees observed a moment of silence to mourn the victims, according to CCTV News.

At the press conference, authorities reported that the heavy rainfall triggered mountain torrents that caused severe damage to infrastructure in Yuzhong County. Preliminary statistics showed that eight townships, 485 households, and 2,002 people in the affected areas have been impacted, with five of the townships hit by mountain torrents, CCTV News reported.

The Ministry of Emergency Management has dispatched a working group to guide search and rescue operations on site, while senior provincial officials in Gansu are coordinating disaster relief efforts in affected areas. Operations are underway in an orderly manner, according to Xinhua.

Disaster relief

In response to the flooding, multiple government agencies have launched disaster relief measures. On Friday, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters activated a Level IV national emergency response for the severe floods in Gansu, sending a working group to assess the situation and help local authorities ensure the basic livelihood of affected residents.

Since Thursday, heavy rainfall has triggered mountain torrents in Yuzhong County and other areas of Lanzhou, causing significant casualties. On Friday, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Emergency Management urgently allocated 120 million yuan ($16.7 million) in central natural disaster relief funds to support emergency rescue and relief work in Gansu and Inner Mongolia. 

The funding will focus on search and rescue, relocation and settlement of affected residents, hazard removal, investigation and mitigation of secondary disaster risks, and the repair of damaged homes, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.

The Office of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, together with the Ministry of Emergency Management and the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, has dispatched 10,000 units of central relief supplies — including folding beds, cotton clothing and quilts, and emergency lamps — to the affected areas to support emergency relocation and aid efforts.

Civil rescue teams have also joined the relief work. Bai Gui, captain of the Blue Sky Rescue Team in Dingxi, Gansu, said that 40 team members are operating in Maliantan village, Yuzhong County, which has been hit by both flooding and mudslides, which carried huge rocks and destroyed houses and roads.

Firefighters, medics, and rescue teams are clearing blocked river channels, but thick silt is hampering movement. The rescue team members at the site are removing rocks, setting up observation posts, and delivering supplies as search efforts continue, said Bai. Washed-out roads and raging torrents mean rescuers often need heavy machinery, even riding in loader buckets to reach the site, Bai added.

China Anneng Group has also mobilized over 170 engineers, hydrology and geology experts, and rescue specialists from Beijing, Chengdu, Nanchang, Yumen, and Zhongwei. They have brought more than 70 sets of professional rescue equipment, including multifunctional drones, 3D laser scanners, and life detectors, to assist in emergency operations, China National Radio reported.

 This is an exceptionally large amount of rainfall for Gansu, a region that is generally arid, and is prone to soil erosion, Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, told the Global Times.

We need to pay more attention to how to respond to extreme weather brought about by climate change and enhance the resilience of both urban and rural areas against extreme weather, said Ma. In this regard, strengthening the assessment and research of climate-related risks in different cities and rural areas is an important foundational task, and relevant research and evaluation in this field need to be enhanced, according to Ma.

We also need to strengthen our capabilities in monitoring, forecasting, early warning, and emergency rescue, Ma said.