A landslide in south-western China’s mountainous Yunnan province early on Monday buried 47 people and forced the evacuation of 200 more.

The disaster struck just before 6am local time in the village of Liangshui, under the town of Tangfang in Zhenxiong County.

The county publicity department said rescue efforts were underway to find victims buried in 18 separate houses.

There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries. The cause of the landslide was not immediately known, although photos from the scene appeared to show snow on the ground.

The landslide came just over a month after China’s most powerful earthquake in years struck to the north-west in a remote region between Gansu and Qinghai province.

At least 149 people were killed in the 6.2-magnitude temblor that struck on December 18, reducing homes to rubble and triggering heavy mudslides that inundated two villages in Qinghai province.

Nearly 1,000 were injured and more than 14,000 homes were destroyed in China’s deadliest earthquake in nine years.