By Amy Oliver
PUBLISHED: 10:34 EST, 13 May 2012 | UPDATED: 12:05 EST, 13 May 2012
At least 44 people have died and 26 others are missing after a massive mudslide swallowed a region in northwest China.
The slide was triggered by heavy rain and hail in the poor mountainous region.
The Civil Affairs Ministry said power and telecommunications have been disrupted in Minxian, Zhangxian and Weiyuan counties in Gansu province.
Mudflow: Soldiers help people to evacuate in Goumen Village, Minxian County, in northwest China’s Gansu Province, after heavy rain and hail prompted a massive mudslide that killed at least 44 people
Devastation: Health workers disinfect a damaged home after the storm hit the village on Thursday
The ministry said that around 150,000 people were evacuated and needed emergency assistance as a result of the storm that battered the county on Thursday evening and triggered the mudslide.
Relief teams have taken blankets and clothing to the area.
The central government says it will provide funds for relief work and rebuilding.
Sludge: A young girl navigates her way across a mud-covered street after a storm hit the village in Minxian
Devastation: Around 150,000 people were evacuated and needed emergency assistance across swathes of Gansu Province
Heartbreaking: An elderly woman looks at her flood-damaged home in Minxian. Twenty-six people are still missing after the disaster
Aftermath: Villagers salvage whatever they can from their damaged homes, left, while others walk through the sludge in the mountain region, right
Gone: Villager Jia Xinping, left, stands next to the remains of his house destroyed by hail and torrential rains in Minxian County
Fields of mud: A man looks on helplessly at his damaged home, left, while another surveys the fields and fields of mud after the storm, right
Clean-up operation: Workers clear the mud that has covered a street in Minxian. The central government says it will provide funds for relief work and rebuilding
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