The death toll from a highway collapse in southern China’s Guangdong province has risen to 36, state media said Thursday, as rescue work continued.“As of 5:30 am on (Thursday)… 36 people have died, and 30 people have been injured,” Xinhua said, adding that the injuries were not life-threatening.Parts of central and eastern Guangdong have received up to 600 millimetres of rain in the last 10 days, three times the amount normally expected at this time of year, the national weather office said Thursday.
Up to 120 millimetres more rain was forecast for the province’s southwestern areas on Thursday, alongside further downpours across southern China until Sunday.
The conditions “raise the risk of disasters, especially geological disasters, which have a certain lag time”, the weather office said.
The emergency management ministry also warned that persistent rain would make such disasters more likely.
Officials have warned people to plan journeys carefully during the May public holiday, which runs until Sunday.
Massive downpours in Guangdong last month sparked floods that claimed four lives and forced the evacuation of more than 100,000 people.
And last week, a tornado killed five people when it ripped through the megacity of Guangzhou.
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