Heavy rain causes floods in E China's Jiangxi Province

Heavy rainfall caused flooding in east China's Jiangxi Province on Sunday. Evacuations have been underway in local villages. 　

Rescuers evacuated trapped villagers in Zhangshu city, and transferred stranded residents by assault boats and kayaks from their homes. 　

A breach in the Qingfeng dike, located in Yichun, Jiangxi, was plugged around 6 pm on Sunday. The breach, which happened on Saturday, was between two piers and about 300 people in the vicinity had to be evacuated. 　

A rescue team comprising more than 1,000 personnel was quickly assembled to carry out emergency response measures after the dike breach, local authorities said.　As the water level dropped, the section speed limit of the railway has been lifted.　 　 Disaster response officials are taking preventive steps in other areas. Vulnerable spots are being identified and people living nearby alerted.　 　

Nearly 500,000 people in Jiangxi have been affected as heavy rains lashed the province from Friday through Sunday, and about 14,000 of them have been evacuated, the provincial flood and drought control headquarters said on Sunday. 　

Southern China is facing a major flood challenge this year due to uneven distribution of rainfall.