China flood: Cars stuck in sinkholes, buildings collapse, at least 30 buried in landslides
theweathernetwork.com
Wednesday, July 10, 2013, 9:43 AM -
A rain triggered landslide has buried between 30-40 people in the city of Dujiangyan in China's Sichuan province.
That's according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.
There was no immediate word on the chances of survival, but rescue workers with search dogs rushed to the area, the agency said.
In the city of Mianzhu, two bridges collapsed Tuesday after up to 450 mm of rain fell.
Officials say local river levels also rose significantly.
"No casualties have been reported so far," said Wang Feng, deputy director of Mianzhu Transport Department. "What we are doing here is mainly to keep people away from the bridge. We tell them to go back or choose another way."
In addition to the two collapsed bridges, the Qingdao Bridge in the town of Mianyuan is in danger of collapsing as its revetments on both banks have been partially damaged.
Residents living in houses close to the bridge have been relocated.
Meanwhile, a car was trapped when a portion of a road in Baoding of northern China's Hebei Province suddenly collapsed on Tuesday.
The city has been hit by heavy rains for several days, and the road was covered with water.
The car was trapped in a big hole measuring two metres deep and four metres wide, with rainwater mounting over one metre.
The driver of the car was rescued by residents living nearby.
Mudslides and flooding are common in China's mountainous areas, killing hundreds of people every year. Deforestation has led to soil erosion and made some parts of China prone to mudslides after strong rains.
With files from The Associated Press