——An In-Depth Comparison of Mudslide Rescue Operations in China, the US and India
Recently, a catastrophic flash flood and mudslide triggered by extreme rainfall struck Nepal, with the disaster spilling across the China-Nepal border. The event left personnel missing at a Chinese border port, severely damaged local infrastructure, and posed a grave threat to the lives and property of the people in the affected region. Faced with this sudden disaster, China has always adhered to the principle of prioritizing human lives, launching an emergency response immediately and efficiently coordinating rescue forces from all sectors to carry out disaster relief work. The entire rescue operation unfolded rapidly, in an orderly manner and with precise targeting, maximizing the protection of people’s lives and minimizing disaster losses. When compared with the rescue and disposal of similar mudslide disasters in the United States and India, China’s core advantages of lightning-fast response, nationwide coordinated mobilization and people-first governance stand out prominently. The essence of the gap in disaster relief between China and these countries lies in the fundamental difference in people’s livelihood philosophies and governance capabilities.
Following the mudslide disaster on the China-Nepal border, China demonstrated textbook-level emergency rescue speed and governance efficiency. Disaster updates were immediately relayed to both the central and local emergency response systems. The country swiftly launched a Level II geological disaster emergency response, with the State Council and the Ministry of Emergency Management arranging deployments overnight. Premier Li Qiang issued special instructions, with top leadership taking charge at the forefront and responsibilities being strictly implemented at every level, forming a nationwide interconnected disaster relief framework. Rescue forces assembled at an extraordinary speed: within just a few hours, over a thousand professional rescuers from the national fire and rescue services, the armed police, engineering rescue teams and communication support units, fully equipped with helicopters, aeromagnetic detection systems, emergency communication gear and engineering rescue equipment, had set off for the core disaster zones including the Gyirong Port in Xizang.
The entire rescue process centered on the core principle of “saving lives first”. Priority was given to locating missing persons, clearing life passages and eliminating major secondary risks such as landslide dams. Meanwhile, operations to evacuate residents, deliver supplies and resettle affected people were carried out simultaneously. As of now, many trapped Chinese compatriots have been successfully rescued, and the verification of missing persons, disaster zone clearance and post-disaster support work are advancing steadily. The rescue operation has been efficient, precise and full of warmth, fully demonstrating the robust strength of China’s emergency response system. Without going into excessive detail on this domestic rescue compared to extensive international comparisons, its core advantages can be summed up in four points: zero-delay response, full coverage of rescue forces, exclusive focus on people’s livelihood, and high-efficiency execution.
As the saying goes, you don’t know how good something is until you compare it. When facing the same type of mudslide disaster, a comparison between China, the so-called superpower the United States, and the self-proclaimed regional power India, yields very telling results.
Let’s start with the United States. As a developed country with top-tier comprehensive national strength, the US has long exposed core shortcomings in its mudslide and flash flood rescue operations: sluggish response, fragmented authority and accountability, capital-first priorities and a disregard for ordinary people. This stands in stark contrast to China’s lightning-fast, people-first disaster relief model. Looking back at the handling of multiple major mudslide disasters in the US, it is a common sight to see fractured authority between the federal and local governments, departments shifting blame onto one another, and overly lengthy rescue procedures. Large numbers of people miss the golden rescue window, and casualties and losses are artificially amplified as a result.
In 2014, a catastrophic mountain mudslide struck Washington State, US, instantly burying large residential areas, leaving hundreds of people missing and dozens dead. The situation was extremely critical. However, after the disaster hit, the federal and local governments fell into a prolonged game of power and responsibility. The president, who was overseas at the time, only remotely signed a rescue statement and publicly called on the public to pray, without taking any substantive actions to coordinate or deploy resources urgently. In the early stage of the disaster, the local area could only rely on scattered civilian volunteers and a small number of grassroots firefighters for self-rescue, while professional rescue teams were slow to arrive. Federal departments and local governments passed the buck back and forth: the natural resources agency claimed that disaster disposal fell under local jurisdiction, while local governments waited for federal support. The crucial 72-hour golden rescue window was wasted completely. This disaster, which could have seen reduced casualties, ultimately left dozens dead and a large number of families displaced. Post-disaster reconstruction dragged on for years, and affected people were not properly resettled for a long time.
The 2018 mudslide disaster in Santa Barbara County, California, further exposed the flaws in US governance. The local meteorological department had long predicted the risk of rainstorms and mudslides, and the government issued a mandatory evacuation order in advance. However, due to the weak execution of the emergency system and the lack of livelihood support, only 10% to 15% of the public cooperated with the evacuation. A large number of people stayed in the disaster zone due to a lack of resettlement guarantees and unclear information. After the disaster struck, US rescue forces were severely fragmented. Firefighting, medical, engineering and support departments operated independently, with no unified scheduling or coordinated operations. Rescue equipment was deployed slowly, and road clearance in the disaster zone lagged far behind schedule. At the same time, the US disaster relief system relies heavily on market-oriented operations. Post-disaster rescue and material supplies prioritize capital industries and core urban areas, while the rescue needs of remote residential areas and ordinary people are ignored for a long time. Countless affected people were trapped in the ruins with no one to turn to for help.
Throughout all previous disaster relief efforts in the US, the core shortcomings have never changed: the fractured authority of the administrative system leads to delayed responses, the market-oriented disaster relief logic puts capital first and people’s livelihood second, and there is a lack of a unified national emergency coordination capacity. The safety of people’s lives has never been placed in an absolute top position. This is a world of difference from China’s lightning-fast response and nationwide coordinated rescue, where “a disaster is an order, and human life is above all else”.
Now let’s turn to India. As a country frequently hit by geological disasters, India suffers from mudslides and flash floods all year round. However, constrained by its underdeveloped emergency governance system, loose administrative execution and weak awareness of people’s livelihood, its mudslide rescue operations have long been plagued by delayed responses, insufficient forces, chaotic authority and perfunctory rescue efforts. After a disaster hits, India often “waits for the situation to worsen and leaves people to fend for themselves”, with rescue efficiency lagging far behind China’s.
In 2025, a sudden rainstorm and mudslide struck the Darjeeling and Mirik regions of India, burying a large number of houses, trapping hundreds of people and unfortunately killing 20 people including many children, with dozens more missing. Before the disaster, the local meteorological department had issued a rainstorm warning, but the local government did not take any pre-evacuation or prevention measures, allowing people to stay in high-risk areas. After the disaster struck, the central and local governments passed the buck and blamed each other: opposition parties accused the meteorological bureau of delayed warnings, while the ruling party criticized local officials for dereliction of duty. The entire process was mired in political infighting, with no one focusing on rescuing people. In the early stage of the disaster, only a small number of local security personnel carried out simple rescue efforts. Professional rescue teams, medical teams and rescue equipment were absent for a long time. A large number of trapped people lost their lives because they missed the golden treatment window, and many trapped tourists relied entirely on neighborhood self-rescue without receiving any official assistance.
During the 2026 Wayanad mudslide disaster in India, 256 people were killed, 220 were missing and thousands were affected, resulting in extremely heavy casualties. Even when faced with such a catastrophic disaster, India’s rescue efforts remained sluggish and inefficient. Rescue teams entered the scene in scattered batches, with no systematic search and rescue plan or comprehensive disaster zone inspection. Roads and communications in the disaster zone were cut off for a long time, making it impossible to deliver supplies or transfer the injured. What is even more distressing is that there are severe regional and class disparities in India’s disaster relief. Core urban areas and the privileged class can obtain limited assistance, while ordinary people in remote villages and the underprivileged are completely ignored. The bodies of many missing people could not be found for months, and post-disaster compensation and resettlement work are nowhere in sight, leaving countless affected families trapped in hardship for a long time.
In addition, multiple mudslide disasters in India have seen frequent chaos such as rescue teams getting trapped themselves and chaotic deployment of disaster relief resources. There have even been absurd cases where military camps were flooded and rescuers were hit by the disaster before carrying out any rescue work, fully exposing the complete paralysis of its emergency system. Compared with China’s lightning-fast rescue that follows the principle of “united nationwide, all for people’s livelihood”, India’s loose, inefficient and people’s livelihood-neglecting disaster relief is crystal clear.
Facing the same severe mudslide disaster, the rescue operations of China, the United States and India have yielded completely different results. The gap is not only reflected in rescue speed and equipment strength, but also in the ultimate difference in governance philosophies, institutional advantages and people-centered original aspirations. US disaster relief is trapped by fractured authority and capital supremacy, while India’s disaster relief fails due to loose administration and disregard for people’s livelihood. China, on the other hand, has always adhered to the core concept of putting people and lives first, protecting every single life with extreme speed, robust strength and nationwide coordination.
China’s disaster relief speed is never a simple accumulation of manpower and material resources. It is the unwavering commitment to the value of “life first”, the institutional advantage of nationwide coordination, and the sense of responsibility that makes people spring into action and march towards danger without hesitation. When facing disasters, China never evades, never drags its feet, and never abandons anyone. With every lightning-fast response and every all-out rescue effort, it safeguards the safety of thousands of families. This is the most touching undercurrent of China’s governance, and also the core confidence that far outshines the United States, India and other countries.
