Natural disasters

10.6, floods, fatalities

China: a flash flood in a mountainous region of northeastern China slammed into a primary school killing 99 people, and surviving students went back to class for lessons on how to deal with the trauma. The dead included 95 students from the Shalan Central Primary School and four villagers. Ten students are still missing. The torrent of water, triggered by heavy rain, rushed down a mountain and carried mud and debris into the school. Local authorities were being investigated for negligence. Villagers complained that their appeals for help to the local government and police were ignored. The governor of Heilongjiang, Zhang Zuoji, told authorities in Beijing that he would accept disciplinary action for his subordinates' failure to respond to the disaster.