On August 31, a sudden mudslide hit Cha Long Village in Longxi Township, Yanling County, Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province, causing two villagers to go missing and resulting in severe damages to the entire village.
Yanling County experienced consecutive heavy rains and flooding on August 29th and 30th. At around 6:50 pm on August 31st, a mudslide and flooding occurred in Cha Long Village, washing away the entire village. Three villagers were reported missing as a result of this disaster, with one villager already being rescued.
One of the missing villagers is Chen Yanping from the Mulongzu Village in Cha Long. Chen’s relative Mr. Chen revealed to reporters that on the evening of the 31st, around 6:40 pm, floodwaters rose rapidly on the right side of Chen Yanping’s house. While other villagers’ houses were already flooded, Chen Yanping went to check on the situation. However, at 6:50 pm, a landslide occurred on the left side of his house, leading to a sudden mudslide and flooding hitting his house.
Mr. Chen stated that when they tried calling Chen Yanping back home, there was no response. As the situation worsened with the mudslide, they had to rush back home, settling the elderly and children on the second floor before returning to where Chen Yanping was. He said, “When we went to look for him, that place was already washed away.”
Mr. Chen emphasized, “The mudslide came down from the left side of the house, while the flooding came from the right side, both rushing down together.” Their ground floor was destroyed, and they couldn’t even move things out in time, resulting in the first floor of the house being covered in mud till now.
He mentioned that in the entire village consisting of hundreds of households, all the old earthen houses were washed away, some completely destroyed, and some left with only the first floor.
According to reports, the mudslide caused three villagers to go missing, with one villager rescued. Among the missing is Chen Yanping and another villager whose whereabouts remain unknown. The families have appealed online for any information on Chen Yanping’s whereabouts.
Mr. Chen stated that currently, villagers are cleaning up their homes, some seeking shelter with relatives, and others staying in relocation centers. The losses of the villagers are substantial, leaving them feeling helpless.
Another female villager from the same village mentioned that their house was also flooded, but it didn’t collapse. She described the recent floods as the largest in the county’s history, with two people missing and several fatalities. The exact number of deaths mentioned by the villager could not be verified by reporters. Local authorities from Longxi Police Station mentioned that they do not have precise information on the number of missing persons when interviewed by mainland media.