A three-storey hotel toppled into a swollen river after days of heavy rain.
Horror footage shows how the riverbank began crumbling after days of erosion from the fast-moving water.
As the land gave way, the riverside inn began toppling backwards.
READ MORE: Panic on plane as power bank explodes in overhead locker
The building was horizontal when it landed with a huge splash in the murky torrent just seconds later.
It crumbled as it hit the riverbed in Gongshan County, in China’s south-western Yunnan province yesterday (1 Jun)
The province was pounded by heavy rain last week due to a low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal.
There were flash floods after some areas saw over four times the usual precipitation for this period.
Some spots surrounding the Dulong River recorded over 300 mm of rain in just three days, as reported by Need To Know.
Nearly 1,800 residents of Gongshan County had to be urgently evacuated.
The rainstorms caused landslides and mudflows in several regions, leaving dozens of houses and bridges damaged or washed away.
Nearly 100 roads were cut off, including all roads in and out of Bingzhongluo Town.
The small town was completely isolated and more than 600 tourists were trapped at one stage.
Xie Guoqiang of the Nujiang Border Patrol Unit told local media: “We went door to door, using sirens and loudspeakers to evacuate residents as quickly as possible.”
In some cases, the authorities had to use dinghies to take people out of danger.
More rain is expected to lash Yunnan this week.
Emergency teams are also on standby in Hubei, Jiangxi, Guizhou, and Guangxi after rainstorm alerts for those provinces.
Despite the widespread devastation, no casualties had been reported.
READ MORE: Student, 19, dies after unclipping seatbelt while parasailing
