TAIPEI, Taiwan – A freeway bridge in northern China collapsed on account of flash floods triggered by heavy rains, and two vehicles fell into the river, state media reported Thursday as elements of China are experiencing the worst floods in a long time.
There had been no identified casualties as of Thursday afternoon after a bridge throughout the Mayi River collapsed alongside the Harbin-Mudanjiang Highway in Heilongjiang province, in response to the Beijing News. Images printed by native media confirmed two badly broken vehicles floating within the water.
The bridge collapsed round 8:50 a.m. native time on Thursday, street authorities mentioned. A rescue operation was ongoing, and a piece of the freeway had been closed, in response to state media.
China is seeing floods triggered by heavy rains in a number of elements of the nation. Weather authorities mentioned the capital, Beijing, recorded its heaviest rainfall in at the least 140 years over the previous few days as remnants of Typhoon Doksuri deluged the area, turning streets into canals the place emergency crews used rubber boats to rescue stranded residents.
A second rescuer was confirmed lifeless on Thursday within the Beijing space and the encircling Hebei province, the place the variety of casualties rose to 22. Liu Jianmin, 47, was working with the Blue Sky Rescue Team, a nongovernmental group centered on aid efforts, when he fell into the water in Fozizhuang Township, in response to the group. His physique was recovered later.
Another rescuer was declared lifeless on Wednesday after the rubber boat she was in flipped over in a quickly flowing river.
A girl carries her pet canine as residents are evacuated on rubber boats by floodwaters in Zhuozhou in northern China’s Hebei province, southwest of Beijing, on Aug. 2, 2023.
One of the toughest hit areas was Zhuozhou, a small metropolis in Hebei province bordering Beijing’s southwest. About 1,000 rescue employees had been despatched to town, and greater than 125,000 folks had been evacuated, in response to state media.
In Heilongjiang, the place the freeway bridge collapsed, water ranges on the Mayi River exceeded security ranges by 50 centimeters (19.7 inches), indicating ongoing dangers of floods.
Meanwhile, within the japanese Shandong province, authorities additionally warned of flooding dangers as water ranges on the Zhangwei River continued to rise.
China was largely spared by Typhoon Khanun, which on Thursday lashed Japan, damaging houses and knocking out energy on Okinawa and different islands. China’s National Meteorological Center had initially anticipated the hurricane to make landfall within the southeastern Zhejiang province, the place native authorities referred to as ships into port and halted passenger ferry providers.
On Thursday afternoon, the middle mentioned the hurricane would convey robust winds and rain to the coast of Zhejiang by Thursday night time and Friday morning however transfer again towards Japan in a single day as its depth would progressively weaken.
Meanwhile, water provide was restored in Mentougou, a district of greater than 260,000 folks in western Beijing that had been badly affected by the floods, resulting in the evacuation of 1000’s.
Several organizations together with Apple, meals supply app Meituan and China’s Red Cross Society on Thursday pledged donations to assist with aid efforts within the Beijing space.