Dinosaur excavation sites inundated by China flood

Flooding in northeast China has inundated famous dinosaur excavation sites and a local museum as workers worry dinosaur fossils may be swept away.

All four dinosaur excavation sites, located at the foot of the mountains in Jiayin County, Heilongjiang Province, have been immersed in flood water from the Heilong River, Liu Min, director of the Dinosaur National Geology Park's administration center, told Xinhua on Friday.

There are still dinosaur fossils under the excavation sites, which could turn loose and be washed away after being soaked for a long period of time, said a park keeper.

The fossils are not regenerative and the losses caused by the flood would be inestimable, said the worker.

In recent years, the county built dikes near the mountains, but they failed to resist the current flood, said Liu.

With an area of 38 square km, the park opened to visitors in 2002. Several hundred fossilized dinosaur skeletons are believed to be buried underground.

Flooding from the river has also inundated the Heilong River Basin Museum, which is located on an island in Luobei County.

Flood water began to enter the museum on Aug. 17 and reached over one meter deep in some first floor rooms on Friday.

More than 2,000 articles on the first floor have been moved to the second floor, said Zhao Yong, curator of the museum.

The water level of the Heilong River in Luobei was 2.01 meters higher than the warning level, surpassing the previous 1984 record by 24 cm.