Heilongjiang river dike bursts, residents evacuated

HARBIN - A dike on a section of the Heilongjiang River in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province burst due to the pressure of unusually high water early on Thursday, local government announced.

The breach occurred at 1:40 am in Chaibaotun, Luobei county, and was about 20 meters wide. More than 7,000 residents living near the site were evacuated on Monday.

More than 70 rescue workers were also evacuated after the breach, which has so far caused no casualties.

Prior to the incident, the river's water level at Chaibaotun was 19 cm higher than the previous record level at that section.

The Heilongjiang River has swelled over the past week, with some sections seeing the worst floods in history. Some 1,340 locations on 29 stretches of embankment along the river have reported problems.

Flooding has also occurred on other major rivers in Heilongjiang, including the Songhua and Nenjiang.

As of Wednesday, over 5.43 million people in 885 townships had been affected by the worst flood in the province in more than a decade. The flood also toppled over 8,500 homes in Heilongjiang.

More than 70,000 people have been mobilized to monitor and protect embankments in Heilongjiang. The flooding has displaced over 233,000 people in the province.

The main stream of the Heilonging River is expected to continue to rise with over 140 villages at risk. The local government has plans to relocate over 73,000 more people, said the provincial flood prevention headquarters.

The Heilonging River, known in Russia as the Amur, runs along the Sino-Russian border.

As of Tuesday, multiple major sections on its main course have seen the the highest recorded water levels. Water level at the Qindeli river section exceeded the historical maximum by 0.95 meters.