BEIJING: A landslide struck some 34 homes in southwest China on Monday, killing two people and leaving another 25 missing in the latest natural disaster to hit the country, according to the local government.

Rescuers pulled six people out of the rubble, including the two who died, in a township in Bijie city in Guizhou province, authorities said in a statement on their website.

A search is continuing and local authorities sent tents, quilts and camp beds to the site, it said.

Video posted on the Twitter account of the official People’s Daily showed the side of a hill collapsing, with dirt rushing across the outskirts of the town as onlookers shouted in fright.

Another video showed people standing on top of massive boulders.

National authorities have issued a grade-IV emergency response for Bijie, the lowest in a four-tier alert system.

The designation mandates daily damage reports and the allocation of money and relief materials within 48 hours.

Landslides are a frequent danger in rural and mountainous parts of China, particularly after heavy rain.

In June and August massive landslides in the southwestern province of Sichuan killed more than 30 and left scores missing.

In July 63 people were killed by landslides and floods in the central province of Hunan. Some 1.6 million people were forced from their homes.

Last week powerful Typhoon Hato killed 18 people as it tore across southern China, including Hong Kong and Macau.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2017