Natural disasters are common across China, particularly in the summer, when some regions experience heavy rain while others bake in searing heat.
Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered "utmost effort" in rescuing the missing people on Friday, state broadcaster CCTV said.
Due to the "frequent occurrence of extreme weather", Xi ordered all regions to "resolutely overcome complacency" and strengthen efforts to identify risks, the broadcaster added.
From August 7, "continuous heavy rain" in Gansu triggered flash floods, with the death toll on Friday afternoon standing at 10, CCTV said.
Local authorities had issued the highest-level emergency warning for flash floods overnight.
A video shared by the Communist Party-backed People's Daily showed more than a dozen rescuers clinging to a rope as they pushed through torrents of mud, while photos posted by Gansu's government showed roads covered in silt and large stones.
Heavy rains trapped 4,000 people living in the mountainous Xinglong area and pushed garbage into roads, CCTV reported earlier Friday.
Three people were missing after a mudslide in Maliantan village, it said.
Footage shared by Chinese fire authorities on Weibo showed rescuers in Maliantan guiding people through rushing grey water.
Beijing's top economic planner said it was allocating 100 million yuan ($14 million) towards disaster relief in Gansu.
Local weather authorities at midday on Friday predicted more rain in some areas, including near the Yellow River -- China's second-biggest waterway.
- Southern landslide -
The country's south has also experienced torrential downpours this week.
CCTV reported Friday that all seven people missing after a landslide in Guangdong province had been killed.
Ten of thousands of people were evacuated across Guangdong this week, with heavy rains flooding residential neighbourhoods and shops.
The government has also allocated 100 million yuan toward recovery efforts there, the National Development and Reform Commission said.
Last month, heavy rains in northern Beijing killed 44 people, with the capital's rural suburbs hit the hardest.
A landslide in a village in Hebei province, which encircles Beijing, killed another eight people.
'Never seen before' rains lash southern Japan
Tokyo (AFP) Aug 8, 2025 -
Record rainfall hit parts of southern Japan on Friday, as authorities urged residents to evacuate and warned of possible landslides.
The deluge follows a period of punishing heat in many parts of Japan, with a national record temperature of 41.8C set this week.
Television footage showed brown, fast-flowing water overflowing its banks to inundate homes in the Kagoshima region.
Local media reported that Kirishima city, Kagoshima, saw a record rain of 500 millimetres in the 24 hours through 5:00 am, twice the average rainfall for the entire month of August.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said the region was "seeing heavy rains that it has never experienced before," but it downgraded its highest alert for heavy rain as the downpour eased.
"Even though the warning has been downgraded, please remain vigilant and ensure your safety," JMA official Shuichi Tachihara said at a press conference.
"Even a small amount of rain could increase the risk of disaster. Please continue to be on high alert for landslides and river flooding," he said.
Over 122,000 residents in Kirishima were urged to evacuate, while the warning was lifted for people in the neighbouring Miyazaki region.
More than half a million people had earlier been encouraged to leave their homes.
Two people were rescued from a collapsed house after a landslide in Aira, another city in Kagoshima, a local fire department official told AFP.
A woman in her 30s, also believed to be a resident of the house, is missing.
Domestic flights at Kagoshima airport were cancelled.
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