This is a worrying moment residents in a high-rise building complex woke up to discover rains washed away the ground in front of their buildings, undermining foundations and causing a road to collapse into the home.
The shocking footage of the buildings now perched on the edge of a deep gully occurred in a residential area in Chongqing and, according to authorities, happened due to several days of heavy rain.
The officials said that they received calls from locals to say that a section of the road suddenly collapsed in the Jinxiu Jiangnan residential area in the Wanzhou district of Chongqing on 5th June.
Nearby residents heard cracking sounds and saw the exposed ground. Videos taken by other people showed a large section of the road collapsed and worryingly exposed building foundations.
A resident of the Jinxiu Jiangnan community told local media that the collapse occurred around 10am and the affected road had been sealed off, with heavy equipment moving into resale the whole.
“It has sunk a few metres visually, and the [spreading] length is about 20 metres [65 feet]. It has been raining heavily for the past few days, and it is suspected that the [collapse] is the cause of the rain.” a resident told local media.
Management Bureau in Chongqing and a staff member said that relevant departments are currently analyzing the situation.
After the incident, the Wanzhou district immediately activated its emergency response plan, evacuated residents of buildings 6 and 7 of the community in the first instance, and relocated them. No one was injured, although the state of the buildings and whether they can be reoccupied is currently unclear.
The District Emergency Bureau and the District Housing Committee confirmed they are working to carry out an emergency rescue construction to shore up the foundations and carry out a safety inspection and appraisal work in an orderly manner.
