BEIJING: The Fu river in Jiangxi province burst through a protective embankment late on Monday, and officials scrambled to plug the breach and move residents living near the Changkai dyke, Xinhua news agency said, citing local officials.

A flooded river in south China breached a dyke and threatened 145,000 residents, as heavy rains battered much of the region, state media reported on Tuesday, June 22.

The report said nobody died from the breach, and it did not say how many residents were evacuated.

Heavy rain across much of southern China over the last week have killed at least 175 people and left 107 missing, as rivers broke their banks and landslides severed road and rail links, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Monday.

The downpours have triggered flash floods, inundated crops, disrupted traffic and telecommunications, forcing the evacuation of more than 1.7 million people, said the ministry.

Many of these displaced people live on low-lying land next to rivers that has been cleared by building dykes. When floods threaten, they are often moved to higher ground nearby.

The worst hit were the provinces and regions of Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Sichuan, Guizhou and Guangxi.

Over the weekend, Premier Wen Jiabao visited rescue workers and people evacuated from flooded homes in Guangxi, urging no effort be spared to tackle the disaster, Xinhua news agency said. -- South China Morning Post
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