New landslides killed 24 people and left 24 missing in China's remote northwest as downpours threatened more devastation and made rescue work nearly impossible Friday in a region where more than 1,100 people have been killed. More rain was forecast for flood-ravaged Gansu province in the coming days _ up to 3.5 inches (9 centimeters) was expected Friday _ and the National Weather Center said the threat of more landslides along the Bailong River was «relatively large.» Tents set up as emergency shelters were flooded, and traumatized victims said the ongoing storms were a frightening reminder of the deluge that brought on last Sunday's disaster in which three villages in Gansu's Zhouqu district were swallowed in waves of mud and rubble-strewn water. Hundreds of homes were completely buried, and the death toll in the northwest flooding was 1,144 as of Friday. The overnight deluge triggered new mudslides late Thursday in Longnan city and Tianshui county, both close to Zhouqu, killing 24 and leaving 24 others missing, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing local authorities in Gansu province. The report said 10,556 people had been evacuated from Longnan but more than 3,000 were still stuck in the flood-hit area. Meanwhile, mudslides also hit parts of southwest China's Sichuan province, killing five people and leaving 500 people stranded in rural mountain areas in Mianzhu county, Xinhua said Friday.
