Chinese villagers forced to evacuate homes after section of Yangtze riverbank collapses
Trees and houses knocked down by floodwaters, forcing hundreds to leave area
About 300 residents in rural China were evacuated early Wednesday morning after a section of the Yangtze River embankment collapsed.
No one was reported to have been hurt but several blocks of housing collapsed and trees had been toppled.
The 240-metre stretch of the riverbank in Yangzhong city in Jiangsu province crumbled away early in the morning, China News Services reported.
The local city government news office said in a statement that the collapse took place around 5am on Wednesday morning between the 15th and 16th divisions of Zhinan village.
“Suddenly the trees were washed away by the water,” according to one eye witness cited by the report.
“My house is only 50 metres away from those that collapsed. It’s lucky that we were able to evacuate in time,” he said.
Emergency repair work was carried out and a new 1,500-metre long embankment had been built by Wednesday afternoon.
More than 20 bulldozers and other heavy machines were deployed at the scene. In total, 75 households had to evacuate the area.
Experts told Beijing Youth Daily that the collapse had mostly been caused by changes to the water currents.