Whether in Brazil, in Italy, or in California, this year has brought some devastating landslides. On Monday, rains caused another in southwest China, in the village of Dazhai in Guizhou province. A saturated hillside fell, burying parts of two communities at its base. More than 100 people are missing and presumed to have been killed.
The area has had several days of heavy rains and flooding. More than 4 million people have been evacuated from their homes during the last two weeks, 100,000 of them when floodwaters breached a dike on the Fuhe River in Jiangxi. That breach had just been repaired when the landslide occurred, and more rain is in the forecast.
Although seasonal flooding is common in southern and central China, officials say this year has been the worst in more than a decade. Rains earlier in June caused floods, landslides, massive evacuations, and casualties in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.