---
title: "Twenty-one people missing as heavy rains soak southern China, triggering landslides"
description: "HONG KONG, May 22 (Reuters) - Twenty-one people have been trapped after torrential rain triggered landslides in China's southwestern Guizhou province on Thursday, with the military deployed to assist in rescue efforts."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-05-22-twenty-one-people-missing-as-heavy-rains-soak-southern-china-triggering-landslides/"
published: "2025-05-22T12:48:32"
updated: "2025-05-22T12:48:33"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 207
---

# Twenty-one people missing as heavy rains soak southern China, triggering landslides

> HONG KONG, May 22 (Reuters) - Twenty-one people have been trapped after torrential rain triggered landslides in China's southwestern Guizhou province on Thursday, with the military deployed to assist in rescue efforts.

By Reuters · Published 22 May 2025, 14:48 SAST · Updated 22 May 2025, 14:48 SAST

## Key points
- As China grapples with a climate crisis that’s turning its mountains into landslide factories and its summers into sauna sessions, 21 people find themselves trapped under the weight of nature’s wrath, while emergency crews scramble to rescue them from the soggy chaos.
- A landslide in Qingyang village has trapped 19 people from eight households, with two more trapped in nearby Changshi township.
- Authorities have issued geological disaster warnings amid ongoing heavy rains in southern China, particularly in Guizhou, Hunan, and Jiangxi.
- The country is grappling with intensified climate change effects, experiencing longer heatwaves and unpredictable rainfall.
- Recent heavy rains have resulted in seven fatalities in Guangdong and Guangxi, prompting a significant emergency response with over 400 personnel deployed for rescue efforts.

## Content

One landslide struck Qingyang village trapping 19 people from eight different households, state broadcaster CCTV reported citing preliminary reports.

A further two were trapped in nearby Changshi township, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Authorities also issued risk warnings for geological disasters in nearby areas.

China is facing hotter and longer heatwaves and more frequent and unpredictable heavy rain as a result of climate change. The country is especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change, authorities have said, because of its huge population.

Authorities initiated its third highest emergency response for heavy rain in mountainous Guizhou as well as the nearby provinces of Hunan and Jiangxi. More than 400 emergency staff including military officers and firefighters were sent to assist in the rescue mission.

Heavy rains over the last week in China's southern Guangdong province and Guangxi region have killed seven people and left several missing with authorities issuing warnings for severe rain, mountain flooding and geological disasters in the south of the country.

Chinese meteorological data shows 2024 was the warmest year for the country since comparable records began more than six decades ago, the second straight year in which milestones were broken.

(Reporting by Farah Master and the Beijing newsroom; Editing by Kate Mayberry)