Rescue teams in northwest China continue to search for survivors of mudslides that have killed at least 127 people.
Officials now say 1,300 people are missing in an area of northwestern Gansu province, and rescuers are racing against the clock to find them. The area is largely populated by ethnic Tibetan herders and farmers.
The Xinhua news agency says the landslides were triggered by torrential rain that sent tons of mud and rock down steep and barren hills as residents were asleep Saturday night and early Sunday. At least one village was completely buried.
Authorities say the flooding of the Bailong River submerged half of Zhouqu County, and that some 45,000 people were evacuated.
More than 4,000 soldiers, police, firefighters and medics were deployed in the region by late Sunday. They brought tents, food and bottled water with them.
Many parts of China have been hit by severe flooding this year, in what officials say is the country's worst seasonal flooding in a decade. More than 1,000 people have been killed.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
