China floods: Leshan Giant Buddha statue at risk after torrential rainfall

Floods on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in China forced authorities to evacuate more than 100,000 people and threatened a 1,200-year-old Unesco world heritage site, the Leshan Giant Buddha. Staff, police and volunteers used sandbags to try to protect the 71-metre (233ft) statue in Sichuan province as muddy flood water rose over its toes for the first time since 1949, the state broadcaster CCTV reported China floods: 100,000 evacuated as waters reach Giant Buddha statue