Alert resident averts landslide tragedy

Were it not for a grassroots geological disaster prevention team member who stopped 15 cars just 10 minutes before a massive landslide on a mountain road, there would’ve been a tragedy.

At 8:30am on Saturday, some 30,000 cubic meters of large rocks fell, covering a section of a mountain road in Beijing’s Fangshan District after days of continuous rains had loosened rocks and mud on the mountains in the area.

At the time, people driving on the road were unaware of the impending danger. But local resident An Hongsan foresaw the disaster and stopped the cars in time. There were no casualties and no damage.

An is a member on the local grassroots geological disaster prevention team organized by the Fangshan branch of the Beijing Commission for City Planning and Land Resources Management.

“I patrol around 4-5km of this road, two or three times every day, checking for falling rocks and monitoring the water levels in rivers,” he said.

An recalled that he felt something different on Saturday morning. “I heard the sound of rocks falling down the mountain before I left the village.”

“When I arrived at the road section, I saw big rocks on the road.” He immediately started to stop the cars traveling towards the area and called some of his colleagues and neighbors to help him. A total of 15 cars carrying 28 people were stopped.

Videos of the massive landslide have been circulated online and An’s heroic deed has drawn appreciation from many.