Massive Mudslide Claims Lives in Amdo Drugchu -Updated

During the early morning hours on Sunday August 8th, a massive mudslide struck Drugchu County in eastern Tibet (Ch: Zhuoqu County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous prefecture, Gansu province).

Media reports from Friday August 13th, put the death toll of Sunday’s tragic landslide at 1100 with at least 600 people still missing.

Heavy rain last week reportedly caused a temporary dam on the Drugchu river (Ch: Bailong river) to burst creating a 2-mile long lake that overflowed sending waves of water, mud, and rocks onto  the town adding to this natural and man-made disaster. The scope of the devastation in Drugchu County can be seen in a video by the BBC here and photos here.

Woeser, the Tibetan writer and blogger based in Beijing has been monitoring tweets from the region which are available in English language here. @melissakchan corespondent for Aljazeera is currently in Drugchu tweeting updates.

Drugchu County is located just 30 miles from Labrang Monastery, a site of intense protest during the 2008 Tibetan uprising.

All of us at SFT send our heartfelt condolences to families who have lost loved ones in Drugchu.