The incident happened at around 6pm in a village of Luanzhen township on the outskirts of Chang’an district, according to sources with the municipal emergency management authorities in Xi’an, Strait Times reported.
China has faced deadly floods and historic rainfall in recent weeks, with the death toll from storms in the northern part of the country reaching at least 78 on Friday.
“Affected by short-term local heavy rainfall, at 6pm on Aug 11... there was a sudden mountain flash flood and mudslide,” reported state broadcaster CCTV.
“A preliminary inspection showed that, at present, two houses in the village have been washed away and... roads, bridges, and power supply have been damaged,” said the report.
Four of the people initially trapped by the mudslide have been saved, CCTV added.
Chinese state media said emergency response and rescue efforts were continuing on Saturday morning as 16 individuals remained missing.
The flash floods occurred in the village of Weiziping, situated in a narrow ravine two hours south of Xi’an’s city center.
Emergency management authorities in the city warned on Saturday that the area would see “multiple rounds” of heavy storms in the near future.
“Coupled with continuous rainfall, mountains, and soil will be highly saturated, likely leading to secondary disasters such as mountain flash floods and mudslides,” the statement said.
RHM/PR