(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-06-15 20:57

WUZHOU, Guangxi -- A section of the Xijiang River in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region was about to burst its embankments following days of heavy rain, threatening tens of thousands of people, local authorities said Sunday.

Rising water and strong scouring had opened a 40-meter crack as of 8 a.m. Sunday on the Dayaochong embankment in Changzhou Town, said Zhang Jinshen, a Changzhou District official in charge of flood control.

Water poured into Longhua village nearby, forcing nearly 120,000 people to evacuate to higher ground.

Hundreds of people have been mobilized to build a 5-meter-high temporary dyke with earth and sand bags near the breached section.

Wuzhou, a city near Guangxi's border with Guangdong Province, had its worst flooding in 100 years in 2005.

The flood crest of the Xijiang River at the Wuzhou section was expected to reach 25.3 meters at 10 p.m. Sunday.

"If the crack widened and the dyke collapsed, the flood would directly threaten the safety of the western part of Wuzhou City," Zhang said.

Xijiang, a tributary of the Pearl River, runs through the Guangxi region and Guangdong Province.

Water levels in the major rivers of Guijiang, Qianjiang, Xunjiang and Xijiang had exceeded warning levels, officials said.

The regional government ordered cities and counties along the rivers to take preventive actions against the worst floods so far this year.

Continuous heavy rains in Guangxi have damaged 22 bridges and cut traffic on 134 roads, including 10 national highways, putting losses at more than 120 million yuan (US$17.1 million).