At least 24 people died after part of a highway collapsed due to heavy rains in southern China’s Guangdong province on Wednesday, said the State media.

State news agency said that a stretch of road between Meizhou city and Dabu county in Guangdong province caved in at around 2:10 am on Wednesday (1810 GMT Tuesday). The incident caused 20 vehicles to become trapped and involved a total of 54 people, it added.

Guangdong, a densely populated industrial powerhouse, has been lashed by rainstorms in recent weeks, causing severe flooding and landslides in some areas. The downpours have been much heavier than would normally be expected for the time of year and have been linked to accelerating climate change. Recently, the province has seen widespread flooding forcing more than 110,000 people to be relocated.

Authorities have dispatched around 500 people to the site to help with the rescue operation.They are drawn from departments handling public security, emergency response, firefighting and mining rescue, according to the broadcaster.