Mudslide in Jiangxi’s Suichuan County Claims 12 Lives
A devastating mudslide triggered by relentless rainfall from Typhoon Shadel has killed at least 12 people in Gaoping Town, Suichuan County, Jiangxi Province, with one person still missing as of the evening of September 8. The disaster struck the remote mountain village of Mingkeng in the early morning hours of September 5, destroying eight homes and severely damaging four others, according to Xinhua News Agency.
A Village Cut Off by the Mountain
Mingkeng Village sits in a remote mountainous area at the junction of three counties — Shangyou County and Suichuan County in Jiangxi, and Guidong County in neighboring Hunan Province — approximately 80 kilometers from the Suichuan county seat. When the mudslide struck the Shixia Group of the village, transportation, electricity, and communications were all severed simultaneously, leaving the community temporarily isolated from the outside world.
Rescue crews faced treacherous conditions as they fought to reach the affected area. China Anneng Second Engineering Bureau deployed 80 rescue personnel and 45 pieces of equipment, working through the night to clear the destroyed mountain road. After more than ten hours of continuous effort, the road from Tanghu Town to Mingkeng Village was fully reopened in the early hours of September 6, CCTV News reported.
“Currently, the road to the landslide core area is deeply muddy and the area is extensive,” said Wan Qiang, on-site commander of China Anneng Second Engineering Bureau, describing the challenges facing rescue teams. “We formulated a core area road clearance and rescue plan in the early hours of today. We have already advanced 100 meters.”
Typhoon Shadel’s Relentless Assault
The mudslide was the culmination of days of extreme weather. Typhoon Shadel, the 18th named storm of the 2026 Pacific typhoon season, made an unusual triple landfall in China — first in Zhejiang Province on August 28, then again in Fujian Province on September 3. Its remnants combined with cold air from the north, producing sustained heavy rainfall across Jiangxi for seven consecutive days, making it the strongest typhoon to affect the province this year.
Zaobao reported that the typhoon caused flooding across 10 cities and 56 counties in Jiangxi, affecting approximately 161,500 people. Ji’an City, where Suichuan County is located, was among the hardest-hit areas.
Local authorities had issued warnings before the disaster struck. On September 2, Suichuan County’s disaster prevention committee published a public notice to all residents, warning of geological hazard risks given the county’s mountainous terrain and numerous hazard points. The notice emphasized the “lag effect” of landslides, which can occur even after rain has stopped.
Rescue Operations Intensify
Emergency response was swift and multi-layered. By mid-morning on September 5, Suichuan County had activated its highest-level (Level 1) disaster relief emergency response, and Jiangxi Province activated a Level 2 geological disaster emergency response for the county. At the national level, the National Disaster Prevention and Reduction Committee and Ministry of Emergency Management activated Level 4 responses and dispatched working groups to the scene.
Fire services deployed 41 vehicles and 224 personnel, while more than 640 rescue personnel had arrived at the scene by the evening of September 5. The rescue effort integrated personnel from emergency management, fire services, armed police, and professional rescue teams, using life detection equipment, search dogs, drones, and slope radar technology.
Nearly 150 geological technicians deployed more than 200 portable monitoring devices at the site, as residual landslide volume was estimated at approximately 54,000 cubic meters. “Nearly 150 geological technicians on site have deployed more than 200 sets of various portable monitoring equipment, providing professional support for geological disaster emergency rescue work,” said Chu Xiaodong, deputy dean of the Jiangxi Geological Survey and Exploration Institute.
A Rising Death Toll
The death toll climbed steadily over four days of intensive search operations. Three bodies were recovered by September 6, five by the morning of September 8, and by the evening of that day, the confirmed death toll had reached 12, with one person still unaccounted for, China News Service reported.
County-wide, Suichuan authorities had transferred 11,968 people by the evening of September 6, with 5,339 evacuated in emergency relocations. Approximately 200 affected residents were relocated to a guesthouse in Wuzhifeng Township, Shangyou County, where medical teams were stationed. Relief supplies including life jackets, rescue ropes, folding beds, blankets, and quilts were distributed to affected communities.
Broader Impact and Forward Look
The mudslide in Mingkeng Village was not an isolated event. In Yangfen Village of Zuoyan Town, also in Suichuan County, multiple landslides on September 4-5 left two people missing. In Dafeng Town, hillside cracking prompted the preventive evacuation of 169 people from 87 households.
Suichuan County Party Secretary Luo Gang pledged that local authorities would “make every effort to search for missing persons, treat the injured, resettle affected residents, and handle the aftermath for the deceased, while continuing to open up lifeline rescue channels.”
As of September 8, power had been restored to 53 of 58 affected power lines, and 1,901 of 2,110 mobile and telecom base stations were functioning. The National Development and Reform Commission allocated 20 million yuan (approximately US$2.8 million) for disaster recovery.
With one person still missing and geological risks persisting in the mountainous region, rescue teams continue their search operations. The disaster underscores the vulnerability of remote mountain communities to extreme weather events intensified by climate change, and highlights the critical importance of early warning systems and geological hazard monitoring in China’s mountainous provinces.