A flood that has wiped out roads and sent rivers of thick muddy water through communities has left two tourists missing and many houses damaged in a Tibetan-populated area of China’s Sichuan province, according to Chinese state media.
However, local sources told Radio Free Asia that there are likely many more people missing in mountainous Nyagchu county.
The flooding and landslides last weekend took many people by surprise, one source told RFA.
Roads were covered with mud, and some cars and trucks were tossed into the debris as the flooding rushed through towns and villages.
Nyagchu county – referred to as Yajiang in Mandarin Chinese – is in Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the traditional Kham region.
Tibetans made up the majority of Nyagchu county’s total population of over 51,000, according to 2020 census data.
Edited by Matt Reed.
