China's Sichuan activates top flood emergency response

Southwest China's Sichuan Province on Tuesday activated the highest level of flood control response for the first time on record, as rain-induced floods ravaged parts of the province.

The province's flood control and drought relief headquarters raised the response to Level I, the highest in the four-tier emergency response system, at 5 a.m. Tuesday.

Floods also affected the Leshan Giant Buddha, a UNESCO world heritage site situated outside the city of Leshan. Floodwater reached the toes of the Buddha statue for the first time after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

There is an old saying in Leshan -- the city will be flooded entirely when the Giant Buddha's feet are flooded. Leshan has activated its highest-level flood control response.