SHANGHAI: Hundreds of people were trapped in rural Tibet in recent days after heavy rainfall caused floods and landslides, Chinese state media reported on Wednesday.
At least 472 people, including local residents and tourists from outside the area, were trapped outside Chentang Township in the Shigatse area, state broadcaster CCTV said.
China is battling extreme weather across the country this summer, with the national weather agency expecting extreme heat to persist for much of the season.
Swathes of northern China have already been baked by heat waves this summer, while unseasonably torrential rains have triggered deadly floods and landslides across much of the south.
Climate change driven by human-emitted greenhouse gases makes extreme weather events more frequent and intense, and China is the world’s biggest emitter.
Continuous rainfall since Saturday in Tibet had left roads damaged, and “power and communications in the area of Chentang Township was cut off,” according to CCTV.
Footage published by the broadcaster showed murky water tumbling down rocky hillsides, and large groups of people trekking along crumbled roads.
Large parts of one road appeared to have fallen into a river, while another one was covered in debris from a landslide.
CCTV said rescuers had been working for four days, and had successfully relocated 342 of the stranded people to nearby urban areas.
“Additionally, more than 130 tourists from outside this area, migrant workers and merchants remain temporarily stranded there due to road disruptions, rainy weather and insufficient physical ability to walk long distances,” CCTV said.
An emergency communications network has now been set up in the area, according to the broadcaster.
Hundreds stranded in rural Tibet after heavy rain: state media
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Hundreds stranded in rural Tibet after heavy rain: state media
- At least 472 people, including local residents and tourists from outside the area, trapped
- China is battling extreme weather across the country this summer
Pope criticizes prison overcrowding during special Mass for inmates, guards and families
- Leo recalled that visit in Sunday’s homily, as well as Francis’ Holy Year appeal for governments around the world to offer prison amnesties and pardons
ROME: Pope Leo XIV criticized prison overcrowding and insufficient inmate rehabilitation programs on Sunday as he celebrated a special Mass for detainees, guards and their families in the final event of the Vatican’s 2025 Holy Year.
The Vatican said an estimated 6,000 people signed up to participate in the weekend pilgrimage, including representatives from big detention facilities in Italy and prison volunteers, wardens and prison chaplains from 90 countries.
Included were a few groups of inmates who received special permission to participate, according to the Italian penitentiary chaplain’s association.
In his homily, Leo acknowledged the oftentimes poor conditions prisoners face even in wealthier countries. He called for a sense of charity and forgiveness to prevail for prisoners and those responsible for guarding them.
“Here, we can mention overcrowding, insufficient commitment to guarantee stable educational programs for rehabilitation and job opportunities,” he said, adding that patience and forgiveness are needed.
“On a more personal level, let us not forget the weight of the past, the wounds to be healed in body and heart, the disappointments, the infinite patience that is needed with oneself and with others when embarking on paths of conversion, and the temptation to give up or to no longer forgive,” he said.
As the last big event of the 2025 Jubilee, the Mass in many ways closed out the Holy Year that Pope Francis inaugurated Christmas Eve 2024, which had as its main thrust transmitting a message of hope especially for those on society’s margins.
During his 12-year pontificate, Francis had prioritized ministering to prisoners to offer them hope for a better future. On Dec. 26 last year Francis traveled to Rome’s Rebibbia prison to open its Holy Door and include the inmates in the Jubilee celebrations.
Leo recalled that visit in Sunday’s homily, as well as Francis’ Holy Year appeal for governments around the world to offer prison amnesties and pardons, which are a mainstay of the Catholic Church’s Jubilee tradition.
In Italy, prison overcrowding is a longstanding problem that has been denounced by the European Court of Human Rights and humanitarian organizations.
Antigone, an Italian prisoner advocacy group, said Italian prisons are now at 135 percent overcapacity, with more than 63,000 people detained in facilities with fewer than 47,000 beds. Italian prison authorities received 5,837 complaints of inhuman or degrading treatment last year, 23.4 percent more than in the previous year, Antigone said.
The Mass was the final big Jubilee event of the 2025 Holy Year, which Leo will officially close out on Jan. 6 when he shuts the Holy Door of St. Peter’s.
