Two separate landslides struck Changshi and Guowa towns in Dafang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province on Thursday, leaving two people dead and 19 others trapped, according to local authorities.
The landslides hit Changshi at 03:00 and Guowa at 09:00. Two people were trapped in Changshi and were later confirmed dead after their bodies were recovered.
Another 19 residents involving eight households in Qingyang Village of Guowa were trapped, according to preliminary assessments by local authorities.
Police officers, emergency responders and firefighters rushed to the affected areas to carry out search and rescue operations. They are being assisted by sniffer dogs and are equipped with life detectors, drones and relevant tools, among other devices.
Rescue operations in Guowa are being hindered by steep slopes and mountainous terrain.
The Ministry of Emergency Management promptly activated a Level-IV emergency response to geological disasters and has dispatched a working team to the site to guide rescue operations.
The ministry urged swift efforts to verify the situation, carry out search and rescue operations, and also guard against secondary disasters.
2 dead, 19 trapped in Guizhou landslides
The multilateral system is "under attack" amid global turmoil, President of the 80th UN General Assembly Annalena Baerbock warned in her remarks on Wednesday.
In her briefing on the priorities for the resumed 80th Session of the General Assembly, the UNGA president noted that the current multilateral system does not collapse all in a sudden, but "crumbles piece by piece" in divisions, compromises, and lack of political commitment.
The president called all the UN member states to defend the UN Charter and international law and promote cross-regional cooperation.
She also urged to push forward the work of the UNGA on certain critical issues with a strong majority, rather than an absolute consensus among all member states. Such act is not a failure of multilateralism, but "an affirmation of it," she said.
The foundational principles of the institution should not be eroded by appeasement, she said, calling the member states to show courage, leadership, and responsibility at the UN's "critical make-or-break moment."
"The UN needs you. Your support, your leadership, your principle, stand, your cross-regional cooperation, if we are to preserve and modernize this institution, if we are to make it, rather than break it," she said.
UNGA President warns global multilateral system "under attack"
UNGA President warns global multilateral system "under attack"
