The death toll from the massive mudslides in Zhouqu County, northwest China's Gansu Province, had risen to 1,287 as of 4 p.m. Wednesday, with 457 still missing, local disaster relief headquarters said.

Torrential rain on Aug. 7 prompted an avalanche of sludge and debris to crash down on the county seat of Zhouqu the next day morning, ripping many houses off their foundations and tearing multi-story apartment buildings in half.

Zhouqu County sits in the steep valley of the Bailong River, a tributary of Jialing River which meets the Yangtze in Chongqing. It is hemmed in by rocky mountains on both sides.

Torrential rains have wreaked havoc across China this summer, incurring the worst flooding and landslides in decades.

Another mudslide struck a remote town in southwest China's Yunnan Province early Wednesday, leaving at least 67 people missing and 25 injured, nine severely.