Eight dead after thunderstorms hit China's Hubei; several missing after landslide in Gansu

At least eight people were killed and one person remained missing after thunderstorms and strong winds triggered by severe weather conditions hit the eastern region of central Chinas Hubei Province according to emergency management authoritiesThe extreme weather affected several areas between 7 pm and 11 pm on Monday bringing powerful thunderstorms and gales to Huangshi Huanggang Ezhou and Xianning Officials said two townships recorded winds reaching level 13 while tornadoes were also reported in some locationsLocal authorities said three communities in Huanggang Citys Huangzhou District suffered severe damage due to the latest spell of intense weatherHundreds injured residents evacuatedAccording to local rescue headquarters 275 people were injured across the three affected communities by 5 am on Tuesday Authorities evacuated 408 residents to safer locations as emergency teams responded to the situationRescue and relief operations are currently underway in the affected areas with officials working to assess damage and provide assistance to residentsThe severe weather comes as parts of China continue to face heavy rainfall flooding and weatherrelated disastersLandslide hits Gansu ProvinceMeanwhile a landslide struck a village in Nanhe township of Tanchang County Longnan City in northwest Chinas Gansu Province early Tuesday morning leaving several people missingAccording to local authorities the landslide occurred around 656 am A total of 33 people were believed to have been buried under the debris while 17 people have been rescued so farEmergency teams have launched extensive search and rescue operations to locate those still missingFlooding affects thousands in NanningIn a separate weatherrelated incident two people were killed and nearly 55000 residents were affected after torrential rainfall caused flooding and breaches at several reservoirs in Nanning CityOfficials said around 48000 people were evacuated from affected locations as authorities carried out emergency response measuresThe heavy rainfall was triggered by Typhoon Maysak which brought intense downpours to several parts of Nanning between Saturday morning and Monday morningBy Monday evening water levels in 59 rivers across Guangxi had crossed warning levels raising concerns about further floodingAuthorities strengthen flood response measuresHuang Lu deputy head of the municipal emergency management bureau said floodwaters in the affected areas showed signs of receding as of Monday eveningOfficials said early warning systems and evacuation measures have been implemented for villages that remain vulnerable to floodingChinas Ministry of Water Resources also upgraded the floodcontrol emergency response for Guangxi from Level III to Level II as authorities continue monitoring the situationWith inputs from IANS