Elderly man dies after reservoir collapse in Shanxi

With the Quting reservoir collapse in Shanxi Province, the flood brought not just water, but tons of silt as it retreated. A 70-year-old man has died in the incident after he fell in the sludge and was suffocated as he tried to return home alone. The sludge also disrupted traffic but it had been cleared by Sunday night, allowing both railway and highway traffic to resume.

You need to wear waterproof boots in this village. And it's not even the rainy season yet. Nearly 18 million cubic meters of water gushed out, flooding 19 downstream villages. More than 10,000 residents were relocated, but most have now returned home.

Villager, Hongtong County, said, "I heard the evacuation notice from the village broadcast on Friday afternoon. We were taken to factories and restaurants. The local government gave us food. Once the flood passed, we returned home."

Nanyangxie Village is the hardest hit. Its residents are among the 20-percent that cannot go home, because of the sludge.

Wang Anjia, Nanyangxie Village, Shanxi, said, "Most of the villagers are staying in their relatives' homes. The rest are staying in another village and some hotels."

Railway and highway transport resumed on Sunday, three days after the collapse. However, the flood destroyed fences on some railway lines, and workers need to keep watch 24 hours a day.

Zhao Feihu, Railway Worker, said, "We need to ensure that no one crosses the railway when a train is running."

The flood damaged large areas of farmland. And there has been no word on how economic losses are going to be compensated.