Last Sunday afternoon (July 26), sudden heavy rainfall triggered flash floods in the Shuangshimen scenic area of Weiyuan County, Dingxi City, Gansu Province. Official reports on that day indicated that it had caused 10 deaths and 23 injuries. The latest information shows that the number of casualties has risen to 25.
According to a report by China’s official media CCTV News on August 2, the sudden short-term heavy rainfall in the Shuangshimen Gully area of Luojiamo Village, Huichuan Town, Weiyuan County, resulted in a flash flood disaster, which has now led to 25 fatalities and 23 injuries.
On the night of the flash flood, Mr. Liu (pseudonym), one of the tourists who escaped from the scene, told a reporter from Dajiyuan that there were over two hundred people on the mountain at the time, including elderly and children. “It rained heavily for about half an hour. The scenic area did not give any advance warning. They were only concerned with collecting fees. I don’t know how many people were swept away, but it’s definitely more than 10 people. Only 10 out of 60 cars came out. We watched as people were washed away on the mountain. Because it was Sunday and a holiday, there were many people.”
Many people were camping in the river channel and along the riverbank. Mr. Liu said, “We were on the mountain at the time, not near that gully. Most of the missing people were either in the gully or hiding in their cars from the rain.” “At that time, the two of us were on the mountain, while the other three had gone down. When we saw the flood coming down as we were packing up, I called the three people below and told them to move their cars to the roadside, and then we climbed to the mountaintop. Later, the people down in the gully were in trouble.”