In the immediate aftermath of the mudslide, President Xi Jinping ordered an all-out search and rescue effort. Xi stressed that the top priority is to do everything possible to find and rescue missing people, evacuate residents from danger zones and provide timely treatment to the injured, while also strengthening monitoring and early warning, carrying out rescue work in a scientific manner and guarding against secondary disasters. He noted that the country is in a critical period for flood control and said local authorities and relevant departments should prepare for worst case and extreme scenarios, thoroughly carry out flood and typhoon prevention measures, step up efforts to identify and resolve risks and hazards, and firmly guard against major disasters to protect people's lives and property.
A State Council level response
Premier Li Qiang ordered officials to move quickly to verify the numbers of missing and affected people, carry out all-out relief operations and evacuate those in danger zones, and told the Foreign Ministry to strengthen communication and coordination with relevant countries and share information in a timely way given the number of foreign nationals involved. Vice-Premier Zhang Guoqing has led a team to the site to guide the rescue and response effort.
Emergency response level and funding
China activated Level-II emergency responses for both natural disaster relief and geological hazards, the second highest tier in the country's four level emergency response system. The Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Emergency Management and the National Development and Reform Commission have together allocated 220 million yuan, or about 33 million US dollars, to support Xizang's rescue and relief work. The Ministry of Emergency Management has deployed 249 personnel from the national comprehensive fire and rescue force along with 325 engineering rescue personnel from centrally administered state enterprises including China Anneng Construction Group and PowerChina, and 30,000 central relief items such as tents, stoves, clothing, quilts, folding beds and moisture proof mats have been sent to support evacuation and resettlement.
Local forces mobilize in parallel
At the local level, the Xizang Fire and Rescue Corps had deployed 72 vehicles and 431 personnel to the site as of Wednesday afternoon, equipped with rescue dogs, life detectors and assault boats. State Grid Xizang Electric Power Co sent an initial group of five repair workers with a medium voltage generator vehicle and emergency lighting to support power and lighting for nighttime rescue work. The local meteorological bureau has forecast continued rain across Gyirong county from Wednesday night through Sunday, warning of the risk of flooding, landslides and other secondary disasters in low lying areas.
