8-year-old girl pulled from sewer after 7 hours as floods batter southern China

HONG KONG — A girl was found alive and unharmed more than seven hours after heavy rain swept her into a sewer in China, rescuers said Tuesday.

On her way home from school Monday, “rushing waters” pulled the 8-year-old into a drainage ditch while she attempted to pick up a lost shoe, firefighters in the southern province of Guizhou said in a statement.

The girl survived by holding onto a horizontal bar around 32 feet down in the sewage pipe, the statement said. Trapped for more than seven hours, she was soaked from head to toe but showed “no obvious serious injuries,” it said.

“This first-grade girl fought against the pitch-black darkness, coldness and constant fear with amazing calmness and perseverance,” the statement added. “We give a thumbs-up to this brave girl.”

By Thursday, at least six people had died and tens of thousands more were evacuated by the heavy rains that have battered China’s southern provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou and Hubei since June 17, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. Widespread flooding has brought down buildings and infrastructure.

China’s government allocated 300 million yuan ($41 million) of disaster relief funds Monday for areas severely affected by flooding.

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At least 20 rivers have seen floods exceeding warning levels because of heavy rainfall, Xinhua reported, citing the country’s Ministry of Water Resources.

As dangerous surface runoff began to recede and work started to remove silt left behind by the flooding and restore power, telecommunications and water networks, authorities warned people to remain alert to secondary disasters such as road collapses, landslides and hydro-dam overflows .

Rains from a tropical depression expected to make landfall in Guangxi on Thursday night could affect restoration and cleanup work.