Mudslides, landslides, and flooding hit Suichuan County in Jiangxi Province, China, after days of heavy rain in early September 2026. Screenshot via The Epoch Times
At least four people have died and 10 remain missing after landslides and mudslides struck mountain communities in southeastern China following days of torrential rain.
Three people were confirmed dead and nine remained missing in Mingkeng Village in Gaoping township, Suichuan County, Jiangxi Province, and a separate landslide in Yangfen Village in Zuo’an township left one person dead and another missing as of Sept. 6, according to state media Xinhua.
The Epoch Times could not independently verify the casualty figures.
A man traveling from Shenzhen to Ji’an on business told The Epoch Times that he and three companions became stranded around Gaoping after landslides blocked roads in the area. The Epoch Times is withholding his name because he fears retaliation by Chinese authorities.
“The power and internet were both out over there in Gaoping,” he said.
He said he was forced off an expressway on the night of Sept. 2 because a landslide had made the road impassable.
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“I went to a guesthouse over there and ended up trapped there for two days,” he said. “We couldn’t get out because of the landslides. The provincial roads were all blocked.”
He finally made it out around 1 p.m. on Sept. 5.
The traveler said the landslides were severe and described the affected village as “basically buried.”
“The situation doesn’t look good,” he said.
Rescue Complicated by More Landslides
The main mudslide struck the Shixia hamlet of Mingkeng Village at about 4 a.m. on Sept. 5, damaging 12 houses, eight of which were completely destroyed, according to the Suichuan County Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, cited by state media China News.
Road collapses and smaller landslides hindered rescuers trying to reach the disaster site. An emergency engineering team was stopped on Sept. 5 nearly 7 miles from the hardest-hit area while crews worked to clear the route, according to a separate report by China News.
Rescuers also encountered further landslides while searching the site. Another slide occurred during the night of Sept. 5, sending additional earth into the hardest-hit area and reducing the space available for rescue work, according to Xinhua.
Two-Lane Bridge Swept Away
Flooding also destroyed a longtime road crossing at another location in Suichuan.
At about 4 a.m. on Sept. 5, floodwaters swept away most of the Yutian Old Bridge, a two-lane concrete bridge spanning the main channel of the Suichuan River in Yutian township, leaving only several piers standing.
The bridge was built in the late 1980s and had served for more than three decades as an important river crossing, a Yutian resident told Jimu News, a digital news outlet under the state-run Hubei Daily Media Group. The resident described it as a local landmark.
Heavy rain had affected Ji’an since Sept. 1, triggering flooding, landslides, and road closures across the region.
