China Flood Wipes Out Quake Memorial

Western China's Beichuan county is having a terrible few years. The worst flooding the county has seen in 50 years has destroyed a high-profile memorial to the earthquake that ravaged the area in 2008, leaving 90,000 people dead or missing in Sichuan province and rendering the former county seat unlivable. The town was abandoned and a 10-square-mile area of ruins was turned into a memorial and museum, which only opened in May this year. Massive flooding over recent days has immersed the site, collapsing buildings and destroying exhibits, according to state media. The flooding, which has destroyed hundreds of homes, also caused the collapse of a bridge in a neighboring county, sending six vehicles into the raging waters and leaving 12 people missing. (More Sichuan province stories.)