The death toll from a highway collapse in southern China’s Guangdong province rose to 36 on Thursday, state media said, as rescue efforts continued. According to state news agency Xinhua, heavy rains caused a stretch of road connecting Meizhou City and Dabu County to collapse at roughly 2:10 a.m. on Wednesday (1810 GMT Tuesday). Vehicles collided with the almost 18-metre-long (59-foot) crack in the tarmac and tumbled down the steep hill beneath. Guangdong, a heavily populated industrial powerhouse, has recently experienced a string of calamities caused by extreme weather phenomena. The storms have been far more intense than predicted for this time of year, and they have been related to climate change.