The local government is taking good care of some 200 residents relocated to a school with warm shelter, adequate daily necessities and medical care, after a landslide which struck a village in southwest China's Sichuan Province on Saturday.
The disaster took place at about 11:50 on Saturday in Jinping Village, Junlian County of Yibin City.
As of midnight that day, preliminary reports indicated that the landslide buried 10 houses and one production facility. Two injured individuals were rescued and 29 people were still listed as missing.
As of 8:00 Sunday, the authorities had transferred 162 residents to a dormitory building of a local middle school as its students are still on the winter vacation.
Some residents have gone to seek shelter with their friends and relatives.
The volunteers provided each displaced person with two sets of blankets and mattresses to stay warm.
Additionally, a medical service station was set up on site to offer timely healthcare for them, while the school cafeteria operates 24 hours a day, serving evacuees with two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes.
Nearly 1,000 rescue workers from multiple agencies have rushed to the site, braving tough weather conditions to carry out emergency life-saving operations.
Search and rescue teams from military and government departments, including armed police, militia, police and firefighters, have been swiftly deployed to the stricken area.
The rescue command center is located approximately 600 meters from the landslide site, where the still active landslide, coupled with heavy rain and fog, continues to impede rescue efforts.
Relocated people well-cared after landslide in southwest China
Relocated people well-cared after landslide in southwest China
Relocated people well-cared after landslide in southwest China
Relocated people well-cared after landslide in southwest China
An innovative, China-developed intelligent caisson robot has played a crucial role in completing the main structure of the Changtai Yangtze River Bridge in east China's Jiangsu Province, with its key ability to see in muddy water allowing more real-time monitoring and flexible drilling.
This advanced technology has significantly shortened the time required to construct the underwater foundation work needed for this project, which is designed to become the world's largest span cable-stayed bridge.
Due to the bridge's unique construction requirements, traditional drilling methods were inadequate for meeting the load-bearing demands of the main tower. The bridge's foundation differs from conventional suspension bridges; its main tower caissons are located within the river.
Employing cylindrical caissons, each weighing 23,000 tons, more than three times the weight of the Eiffel Tower, and covering an area equivalent to 13 basketball courts, these underwater caissons represent the world's largest underwater foundation.
Measuring 5.9 meters in length and 3.6 meters in height, the intelligent caisson robot, designed as China's first of its kind, operates underwater like a small truck. This pioneering robot ensures stability in anchoring even the most enormous underwater caissons.
To achieve uniform soil extraction in underwater visualization so that the giant caisson can take root smoothly in the water, the engineering construction team spent two years developing this smart caisson robotics system.
"This robot has realized one of its biggest difference-making functions: its ability to see underwater. With sonar and high-definition cameras for deep and muddy water, it operates underwater with real-time visual monitoring and adjustment," said Yang Le, director of large equipment department under China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Bureau Group Co., Ltd., responsible for the project construction.
Once deployed, the operator can adjust the robot's position using built-in range-finders and monitoring devices to its best working status.
"The drill in front has two functions: crush and absorb. By rotating the drill, the soil of various kinds is crushed and carried away by pipelines. Above the drill head is an 18-mega-pascal high-pressure water jet, which can break through hard soil layers and extract debris before suction. We also have a 380-cubic-meter-per-hour suction pump to remove sediment at an operation rate of 200 cubic meters per hour," Yang said.
The robotic arm's 360-degree mobility ensures even sediment extraction, which is critical for stabilizing the 300-meter caissons.
The robot also revolutionized underwater sediment removal, addressing risks of uneven excavation and tilt in traditional open caisson construction using air suction machines, which were also labor-intensive.
"In the past, soil extraction during caisson construction relied on vertical conduits and air suction methods. We could only rely on our experience, and such traditional ways are prone to uneven excavation and tilt of caissons," said Yang.
With the help of intelligent caisson robots, the construction team completed excavating and sinking the main tower caissons for the bridge two months ahead of schedule, ensuring that the main tower is more stable and securely anchored.
"Previous regular mud suction equipment required six workers per shift to move 40 cubic meters of sediment hourly. This robot only takes one man to operate in the operation room to increase the mud suction amount to 200 cubic meters per hour. That is four to six times faster," Yang said.
The Changtai Yangtze River Bridge is expected to open to traffic this year, reducing travel time between Changzhou and Taizhou to just 20 minutes.
China-developed robot helps construct giant bridge in muddy water
China-developed robot helps construct giant bridge in muddy water
