China activates emergency response after mudslide hits Xizang border port

BEIJING, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities have launched full-scale rescue operations after a mudslide in Nepal caused severe casualties at China's border port of Gyirong in southwestern Xizang Autonomous Region on Wednesday morning.

The Ministry of Natural Resources activated a Level-II emergency response for geological disasters, the second-highest in China's four-tier emergency response system, and dispatched a working team to the stricken site to guide rescue operations and prevent secondary disasters, sources with the ministry said.

The National Commission for Disaster Prevention, Reduction and Relief, together with the Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM), activated a Level-II emergency response for disaster relief, and helped allocate 30,000 central relief supplies including tents, stoves, clothing and quilts, folding beds and moisture-proof mats to support the evacuation, resettlement and relief work.

The Ministry of Finance and the MEM also allocated 120 million yuan (about 17.69 million U.S. dollars) in central natural disaster relief funds to support Xizang in carrying out emergency rescue and disaster relief work.

Meanwhile, the National Development and Reform Commission earmarked 100 million yuan in central budget investment to support the post-disaster emergency recovery and reconstruction efforts.

The disaster has cut off roads leading to the port on the Chinese side, as well as communications and power supplies, according to the emergency management bureau of Gyirong County in the city of Xigaze.

Gyirong Port is a major land port connecting China and Nepal.