Genocidal communist dictator Xi Jinping held a high-level Communist Party meeting on Friday to address the response to the ongoing floods and mudslides in occupied Tibet in which leaders reportedly declared that rescue operations were competent and successful so far.
Tibet and neighboring Nepal have been suffering for days under torrential rainfall, which has led to catastrophic mud and landslides as well as the reported overflow of at least one lake. Reports on Thursday shared that experts believe the worst of the landslides – which buried entire towns, roads, and bridges under debris – was caused by a glacial collapse in the upper Himalayan region. By Friday, concerns shifted to the potential overflow of dammed bodies of water in the area exacerbating the critical situation.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), which monitors geological activity around the world, stated on Thursday that its initial assessment suggests “many buildings and infrastructure have likely been buried or destroyed, including a vital highway connecting China and Nepal,” complicating efforts to reach the affected.
Nepalese authorities believe that over 1,500 people – including tourists from over a dozen countries – remain missing as of Friday and have confirmed the deaths of 538 people. The Chinese Communist Party, which controls occupied Tibet, has claimed during the same time period that it had confirmed only five deaths and identified at least 543 people missing.
Xi has remained in Beijing overseeing emergency response. On Friday, he presided over a meeting to organize the deployment of emergency resources and search and rescue teams. According to the Chinese state media outlet Xinhua, Xi and his inner circle rated their own leadership positively, describing relief efforts as effective and competent.
“According to the meeting, emergency rescue operations have been carried out swiftly and in an orderly and well-coordinated manner under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee,” Xinhua shared, “with comprehensive efforts underway for the resettlement of affected people and handling of the aftermath.”
“The meeting emphasized that all relevant authorities and departments must take resolute and effective measures for the rescue-related work,” Xinhua shared. “Search and rescue plans should be formulated in a scientific manner, and every effort should be made to search for and rescue all missing Chinese and foreign nationals, it stressed.”
The South China Morning Post reported on Friday that the Politburo, the elite circle that runs the Communist Party, nonetheless acknowledged the extreme challenges that rescue operations are facing given the large quantities of mud, rocks, ice, and debris flooding communities and cutting off communication and access to many population centers.
“Search and rescue operations face extreme difficulty due to the high-altitude, frigid environment, steep valleys, volatile weather and lingering geological hazards from surrounding glaciers and glacial lakes,” Chinese Politburo leaders observed.
While Xi has avoided the disaster area, the Chinese leader sent Premier Li Qiang, his second-in-command, to occupied Tibet to assess the damage and emergency response on Thursday.
“Li said rescue plans should be formulated in a scientific manner and every possible effort be made to search for those who are still missing. As long as there is a glimmer of hope, every effort should be made, he said,” according to Xinhua. “Expressing appreciation to personnel working on the front lines of the rescue effort, Li later visited temporary shelters for affected residents and conveyed Xi’s concern and care to them.”
Li called for measures to strengthen “monitoring, forecasting and early warning of weather, hydrological and geological conditions in affected and surrounding areas, as well as take solid epidemic prevention and disinfection measures to guard against secondary disasters.”
Chinese officials are reportedly monitoring a lake in Tibet that they fear could soon overflow into communities, in addition to seeking to rescue locals trapped in the already existing debris. According to the Morning Post report, the lake in question was formed by debris coming down from the mountains near Tibet’s Gyirong Port and already began to overflow on Friday.
“CCTV said the lake was thought to have grown by around 25 per cent on Friday, swelling to more than 2.5 million cubic metres of water, the equivalent of 1,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools,” the Hong Kong newspaper noted.
Footage from Chinese state media published on Friday revealed an active avalanche, filmed by a military drone, coming down from a mountain near Gyirong Port, creating more pools of mud.
Footage closer to the ground showed significant damage in areas where the landslide had already passed.
In neighboring Nepal, authorities published a dramatic video of rescuers fiding 350 people trapped in a tunnel and pulling them out through the mud, digging them out of the debris.
Despite the scale of the destruction, Nepalese authorities announced through its Foreign Ministry that it is not currently accepting foreign rescue teams to help find the missing, though many countries are offering aid in the context of seeking to find their own citizens.
“The offer for help is natural. Our security agencies are doing the search-and-rescue operation. For now we don’t require such help,” Nepalese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lok Bahadur Chhetri said on Friday.