CHENGDU (Xinhua) – Eight people have died and 26 remain missing after heavy downpours on Tuesday (Aug 20) battered Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, local authorities said Wednesday (Aug 21).

As of noon Wednesday, the rain-triggered disasters had left six people injured, including three with severe injuries, and more than 100,000 people need to be evacuated and emergency life assistance as well, according to the local rescue command.

The provincial emergency management bureau has dispatched helicopters for evacuation and delivering food and supplies.

More than 34,000 tourists have been evacuated from Wenchuan County, which was hit by multiple mudslides following torrential rain. The evacuation of over 13,000 tourists in the county is underway.

Local authorities are also making efforts to evacuate more than 12,000 tourists trapped in Wolong special administrative zone in Wenchuan.

By 12.15 am Wednesday, power supplies and emergency communication had returned to the heavily hit Gengda Township in Wolong, but water supplies remain disrupted.

Search and rescue efforts are still underway.

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