World Vision is battling against heavy rain to distribute emergency aid among survivors of a catastrophic landslide that hit China’s Gansu Province last Sunday.

A day of mourning has been declared by the Chinese government on Sunday to remember the 1,156 people killed in the landslide that devastated the small town of Zhouqu in the remote north-western province. Nearly 600 people are still missing. Another 32 people are missing after fresh landslide on Saturday.

Many survivors have spent the last week trying to dig through the rock and mud, seven feet deep in places, in a desperate bid to find loved ones.

World Vision said around 300 families had lost their homes, while the homes of more than 4,000 families had suffered partial damage.

World Vision China has completed an initial assessment and is working with local partner the Gansu Charity Federation to distribute 1,500 quilts, 1,000 boxes of bottled water and more than 300 child-friendly kits.

“Recurrent heavy rain has hampered relief efforts,” said Kang Chen, World Vision’s assessment team leader. “Upon completing assessment, we had to detour to a neighbouring county to get to Lanzhou (Gansu’s provincial capital).”

World Vision has allocated more than £20,000 for the initial relief phase, which is expected to benefit more than 8,000 people.

“Continuous coordination and negotiation with our local counterparts are important,” said Kang. “As the government works out its rehabilitation plan, we will continue to closely work with our counterparts.”

Authorities have brought in mobile purification units to provide clean water for 30,000 people, the China News Service reported.

Flags will fly at half-mast tomorrow, while authorities have ordered theatres and cinemas to close for the day as China mourns its deadliest landslide in decades.

Engineers are racing against the clock to drain a nearby lake amid fears it could overflow, causing further destruction to the area.

Heavy flooding has already killed around 1,500 people across China, even before the landslide struck.