Dr. Tashiana Osborne Cherké

According to local officials, 30 to 40 people have been buried in the Djiangyan landslide in China’s Sichuan province.  Continuous rain accumulation and intense flooding led to unstable ground and landslide conditions. On Tuesday, the Qinglian bridge in Jiangyou collapsed, leaving 12 people missing.  Since then, the floods have overtaken another bridge in Jiangyou, along with a bridge in Deyang.

Xinhua news agency reports almost 37,000 people have relocated, with over 300 homes destroyed in Sichuan and nearby Yunnan.  Hundreds of Southwestern China’s residents are killed annually by landslides, and the soil erosion conditions in this area are only worsening.  Already, more than 81,000 acres of crops have been affected by the extreme rain, while economic losses have toppled over $40 million. Heavy rain is expected to continue through Friday and may contribute to intensifying flood conditions.