Sudden heavy rainfall since Thursday evening has triggered severe mountain floods in Yuzhong County, northwest China's Gansu Province, prompting large-scale emergency response efforts. As of Saturday morning, authorities had requisitioned 54 hotels and established 14 shelters at local schools and premises of villagers' committees, relocating and accommodating nearly 10,000 affected residents. The disaster struck particularly hard an area just one kilometer away from the Xinglong Mountain National Natural Reserve, where floodwaters submerged the ground floor of a local hotel, trapping approximately 400 tourists and staff members at 06:00 on Friday. Emergency crews set up a makeshift bridge by the morning to facilitate orderly evacuation of those trapped. Nearby villages suffered complete isolation due to the destruction of roads and disruption of telecommunications, forcing rescue teams to conduct operations on foot. Local authorities have mobilized significant manpower and material resources to address the crisis. "We have currently deployed 15 excavators, 40 dump trucks, 11 loaders and 49 personnel. The main challenge we're facing is the still-high level of floodwaters on the river channel, which has caused extensive erosion damage to the roadbed. Our teams are currently working to clear both the river channel and the road surface, with all efforts focused on keeping these two critical road sections open for traffic," said Hui Pengjia, manager on a local road and bridge construction project. In Mapo Township, where torrential rains triggered devastating flash floods, comprehensive fire and rescue teams deployed there have been conducting intensive search and rescue operations. As of 08:00 on Saturday, these teams comprising 840 personnel, 136 vehicles, 16 boats, and nine sniffer dogs had rescued six individuals and evacuated 443 others to safety. Following the outbreak of flash floods in Gansu, the National Comprehensive Fire Rescue Force immediately mobilized manpower from the Gansu Fire and Rescue Corps, the Gansu Forest Fire Brigade, Northwest China Regional Emergency Rescue Center, and etc to aid the search and rescue operations in the province. It has also sent a specialized 10-member unit from east China's Shanghai backed by drone-mounted detectors and life detection equipment to the disaster area. Since 14:00 Friday, search and rescue teams have been conducting thorough house-to-house search in Mapo Township. Working on the riverbanks in organized groups, the search and rescue crews faced challenging conditions with damaged roads and spotty telecommunication services. The crews then employed drones for aerial reconnaissance and satellite equipment for real-time imaging support as search and rescue operations continued. As one of the first responders to reach the disaster zone, China Anneng Construction Group Co., Ltd. has also dispatched 230 technical experts and rescue specialists from across the country to the disaster area, bringing with them 90 pieces of heavy equipment including excavators and specialized pumping vehicles. Since the early morning of Saturday, the rescuers have been working hard to reopen the crucial S104 provincial highway connecting Yuzhong County to Mapo Township and clear blocked river channels. SHOTLIST: Yuzhong County, Gansu Province, northwest China - Aug 8, 2025 1. Various of rescue personnel, stranded residents; 2. Aerial shots of floodwater, excavators; 3. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Hui Pengjia, rescuer (starting with shot 2/ending with shot 4): "We have currently deployed 15 excavators, 40 dump trucks, 11 loaders and 49 personnel. The main challenge we're facing is the still-high level of floodwaters on the river channel, which has caused extensive erosion damage to the roadbed. Our teams are currently working to clear both the river channel and the road surface, with all efforts focused on keeping these two critical road sections open for traffic."; 4. Various of floodwaters; 5. Aerial shots of floodwaters; damaged roads, buildings; 6. Aerial shots of rescuers, excavators; 7. Various of flood rescue underway; 8. Various of firefighters standing in loader's bucket; 9. Various of flood rescue underway; 10. Rescuers assembling; 11. Various of vehicles moving; 12. Aerial shots of floodwaters, vehicles, fallen trees. [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]