By Xinhua
Wuhan (China): The soil at a construction site along the Yangtze river in central China’s Wuhan city is sinking, posing a potential threat to the riverbank, local authorities said Saturday.
The subsidence began Friday afternoon and continued through Saturday at a residential department in Hannan district about 100 metres from the riverbank, according to the city’s emergency office.
“There has been a 5,000-square-metre sinking area extending from east to west, with the deepest part six metres beneath the earth. Further sinking may threaten the safety of the bank,” said a monitoring technician.
The accident did not cause injuries or deaths, but has stopped the construction of the residential department and damaged power supplies, according to the emergency office.
Local government has evacuated residents of 66 households 200 metres around the area and closed all the roads to it.
Experts believed that the subsidence was due to continuous stormy weather this winter, which may have changed the geological structure underground.
Investigation into the accident is underway.