Landslides leave 4 dead, 10 missing as slope cracks prompt evacuations in Jiangxi, China
Search operations continued in Suichuan County, Jiangxi Province, China, on September 7, 2026 after landslides left four people dead and 10 missing in Mingkeng and Yangfen villages. Crews reopened approximately 600 m (1 970 feet) of access road to the main disaster site late on September 6, while cracks on another slope prompted the precautionary evacuation of 169 residents from Heping Village.
Search and rescue operations after deadly landslide in Mingkeng Village, China. Credit: CCTV
Three people had been confirmed dead, and nine remained missing in Mingkeng Village, Gaoping Town. In Yangfen Village, Zuo’an Town, one of two people reported missing after a separate landslide was found dead, leaving one person missing.
The two incidents brought the latest comprehensive countywide toll to four dead and 10 missing. Authorities said the figures could change as searches continued.
The main mudslide struck the Shixia residential group of Mingkeng Village at approximately 04:00 LT on September 5 (20:00 UTC on September 4).
Twelve homes were damaged, including eight that were destroyed and four that sustained other damage. Three people were initially found at the site. Two were alive and in stable condition, while one was confirmed dead.
More than 640 rescuers had reached the disaster area by 22:00 LT (14:00 UTC) on September 5. Transport, electricity, communications and medical teams were deployed alongside search crews, while national authorities sent specialist teams and monitoring equipment.
By 16:00 LT (08:00 UTC) on September 6, crews had constructed approximately 100 m (328 feet) of access road and removed more than 20 000 m3 (706 000 ft3) of mud and debris.
China Central Television reported that 35 rescue personnel using five excavators and one loader subsequently worked for 15 hours to reopen approximately 600 m (1 970 feet) of road destroyed by the mudslide. The route between Mingkeng Village and the main disaster site reopened at around 23:00 LT on September 6 (15:00 UTC).
Unstable slopes continued to threaten the operation. Rescue personnel temporarily withdrew after noises from the mountainside indicated possible renewed movement on the morning of September 6.
Geological teams used drones, radar and hyperspectral analysis to assess changes in the slope before allowing crews to return. Approximately 10 drone survey flights and more than 200 sets of portable monitoring equipment had been deployed.
Geologists provisionally estimated that the Mingkeng mudslide involved approximately 74 000 m³ (2.61 million cubic feet) of material. The slide mass reached an estimated thickness of 8–10 m (26–33 feet) and traveled nearly 1.3 km (0.8 miles).
Luo Kaiyang, an official with the Ministry of Natural Resources’ Department of Geological Exploration Management, said the area is underlain by a deeply weathered granite layer approximately several tens of meters thick.
Successive days of rain saturated the soil and sharply reduced its resistance to sliding. Investigators said water entering through a drainage channel above the slope contributed to the initial failure, after which displaced material became the source of the mudslide.
Authorities had moved 11 968 people from at-risk areas across Suichuan County by 18:00 LT (10:00 UTC) on September 6, replacing the earlier figure of 5 339.
In Heping Village, Dafen Town, cracks observed on a slope created a risk of another landslide. Authorities moved all 169 residents from 87 households in three residential groups to the former Dafen Town nursing home.
Nearly 200 affected residents from Mingkeng Village had been transferred to accommodation in neighboring Wuzhifeng Township. Approximately 400 people were staying at a centralized shelter at Gaoping Middle School on September 6.
Local authorities reported that 58 power lines had been affected across Suichuan County, of which 53 had been restored. The remaining outages were concentrated in parts of Tanghu, Gaoping, Zuo’an and Yingpanxu.
Of 2 110 mobile communications base stations across the county, 1 901 were operating and 209 remained out of service. Repairs continued as authorities worked to restore communications across the remaining affected areas.
China’s Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM) began coordinating the response on September 5. It directed authorities to search for trapped people, verify casualty figures, deploy communications and engineering-rescue teams, and strengthen hydrological and geological monitoring.
The National Commission for Disaster Prevention, Reduction and Relief and MEM activated Level IV national natural-disaster relief and geological-disaster emergency responses.
MEM also dispatched a national working group and an emergency survey team equipped with slope radar. Local fire-rescue authorities initially deployed 41 vehicles and 224 personnel, while communications and reconnaissance drones were sent to the disaster area.
The Jiangxi provincial emergency command activated a Level II geological-disaster emergency response for Suichuan at 12:00 LT (04:00 UTC) on September 5.
China’s Ministry of Natural Resources separately raised its geological-disaster emergency response for Jiangxi from Level IV to Level III at 11:00 LT (03:00 UTC) that day and sent a team to support the operation.
The National Development and Reform Commission announced CNY 20 million (approximately USD 2.98 million) in central-budget investment to support emergency recovery from flooding in Jiangxi. The funding was designated for damaged roads, water infrastructure, schools, hospitals and other public facilities.
Several days of heavy rainfall preceded the disasters. China Weather Network recorded 299.1 mm (11.8 inches) at Baiyin Lake in Ji’an and 147.3 mm (5.8 inches) at Jinggangshan between 08:00 LT on September 3 and 08:00 LT on September 4.
The service warned that landslides, mudslides, and mountain flooding could still occur after the heaviest rain had ended because saturated slopes can remain unstable.
The National Meteorological Center said Saudel weakened over Meizhou, Guangdong, and ceased being numbered at 17:00 LT (09:00 UTC) on September 3. Its residual circulation continued producing heavy rain across Jiangxi and other parts of southern China on September 4. Xinhua reported that 161 500 residents across Jiangxi had been affected by the rainfall associated with Saudel.
References:
1 Geologists explain the Suichuan mudslide and continuing rescue risks — China National Radio — September 7, 2026
2 Road to the Mingkeng Village disaster site reopened — China National Radio — September 7, 2026
3 Update: Mudslides and landslides leave four dead in Jiangxi — Xinhua — September 6, 2026
4 CNY 20 million allocated for flood recovery in Jiangxi — NDRC — September 7, 2026
Rishav Kothari is Editor-in-Chief of The Watchers, where he runs the newsroom and covers earthquakes, volcanoes, severe weather and space weather.
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