10 July 2014

Shawa mudslide: first pictures of another mining-related landslide?

Posted by Dave Petley

Shawa mudslide

Xinhua reports that the rescue operation for the Shawa mudslide in Fugong County, Yunnan Province in China has now been completed, with 17 people killed and one injured. Details of the slide are sketchy, but it does appear to have been triggered by monsoon rainfall.  The reports about it are somewhat contradictory, with some appearing to emphasise that the landslide was “natural”, whilst others note that it destroyed a silicon mine. Several pictures of the landslide are now available, but they really only cover the lower portions of the slide.  This is probably the best overview:

Shawa mudslide

https://www.toovia.com/posts/2014/jul/04/0.13503.407901828450091018

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Xinhua has two albums of images (here and here), but as usual they are of the “interesting views of the heroic rescuers” genre rather than much of interest.  This image appears to show the landslide deposit and the very destructive nature of the landslide:

Shawa mudslide

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/photo/2014-07/09/c_133472182.htm

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Minzhu mudslide in Yunlong County

Xinhua also reports that there was another landslide at Minxhu, a village in Yunlong County, Yunnan province.  Although much less well reported, this also appears to be been a very destructive event, with the toll likely to be 14 people, consisting of six confirmed fatalities and eight people missing.