16 killed, 36 missing in flash flooding in China

At least sixteen people were killed and 36 others remained missing after a flash flood hit a county in China's northwest Qinghai province on Thursday, local authorities said.

The flood hit Datong Hui and Tu Autonomous County, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted the local emergency management department as saying.

The department said it received a report on the disaster from Xining city, which administers the county, at around 7 am.

The province promptly launched a provincial level-II emergency response for control and rescue work.

Level-II is the second most severe response in a four-tier disaster control emergency response system.