A residential building in Dongguan collapsed on the night of March 11 and cracks appeared on the walls of surrounding buildings, TVS reports. The collapse is thought to have been caused by seepage in the building’s septic tank.

A cracked wall in Dalang Village

Shortly after 11 p.m., residents of Dalang Village were woken by the sound of the 70 sqm building collapsing. It’s located at No. 108 Fu’an Road. There were no casualties but a subsequent investigation showed that the collapse may well have been caused by an overloaded septic tank.

Several of the 300 residents of the building told media of their shock at what happened.

It was the fourth such case in the city’s Guanhui area in a week, according to Dongguan Daily.

Netizens pointed out that the area has become somewhat prone to such collapses.

One Sina Weibo user expressed fear that the Mayan apocalypse had been delayed for a year. Another opined that we should just be grateful nobody died. Another suggested building a bigger septic tank.

Most residents of the building are thought to have been working on the subway system, raising further questions about the living conditions of migrant workers in China’s major cities.