Yangtze River

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Amid Worst Heat Wave Ever, China Shoots Rods Into Clouds

Silver iodide rods intended to spur precipitation

(Newser) - China is experiencing its worst heat wave on record, a two-month-plus streak that's seeing hundreds of cities and counties experience temps of 104 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. But this extreme weather isn't just causing bodily discomfort. It's helping to dry up the Yangtze River, one of the...

Giant Buddha Washes His Feet for First Time in 70 Years

100K evacuated along Yangtze River in China amid record flooding

(Newser) - The Giant Buddha of Leshan hasn't dipped its toes in the Yangtze River since 1949. But it's doing so now that China is experiencing its worst flooding in 70 years, per the BBC . Sandbags are being used to protect the 1,200-year-old World Heritage Site, including a statue...

15 Die After Woman Brawls With Bus Driver

Vehicle crashed off a bridge in Chinese city

(Newser) - Police say a brawl between a passenger and a bus driver was the cause of the bus plunging off a bridge in southwestern China, the AP reports. An eight-second surveillance video posted by Chongqing police on its social media account Friday shows the two got into a fight before the...

Hundreds More Bodies Recovered From China Ship

Death toll is nearly 400

(Newser) - Disaster teams searched the Yangtze River today for dozens of missing bodies from the Eastern Star as the death toll in the cruiser's capsizing rose to nearly 400, making it China's deadliest boat disaster in nearly seven decades. The death toll rose to 396 after hundreds of more...

China Brings 14 Times More Divers to Capsized Ship

Hundreds of rescuers searching Yangtze River site

(Newser) - Chinese authorities escalated efforts to recover more than 410 people believed to be trapped inside an overturned river cruise ship today, deploying scores more divers and a large crane to possibly lift the craft. The squad of 13 navy divers who searched the multi-decked Eastern Star in the Yangtze River...

As Survivors Yell for Help, Ship's Captain Detained

More than 400 still missing in Yangtze disaster

(Newser) - Divers have pulled two people alive from inside a capsized cruise ship and are preparing to rescue at least four more, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV says, giving some small hope to an apparently massive tragedy with well over 400 people still missing on the Yangtze River. Only 18 people are...

A Million Flee Chinese Deluge
 A Million Flee Chinese Deluge 

A Million Flee Chinese Deluge

More flooding feared on Yellow River

(Newser) - More than a million Chinese have fled floods in the southern regions of the nation after some of the worst storms in decades. The deluge comes as China is reeling from a devastating earthquake. The situation is likely to get worse in the next few days with expected flooding along...

China Dumps Yangtze Dam Plan
China Dumps Yangtze Dam Plan

China Dumps Yangtze Dam Plan

Huge dam project nixed but many more on the way

(Newser) - China has decided to scrap plans for a huge dam at Tiger Leaping Gorge on the Yangtze River, the Guardian reports. The dam would have left a popular tourist area underwater and forced 100,000 people from their homes. The decision is a rare victory for Chinese green activists, but...

Feared Extinct, Dolphin Resurfaces
Feared Extinct, Dolphin Resurfaces

Feared Extinct, Dolphin Resurfaces

Rare mammal reportedly appears in the Yangtze

(Newser) - A member of a dolphin species so rare that it was reported possibly extinct may have been spotted in the Yangtze River. The baiji, or white flag dolphin, was declared extinct last December, but earlier this month a man shot a video showing what appears to be a baiji frolicking...

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