By Wang Ying (China Daily/Agencies)
Updated: 2008-06-16 06:53

The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) warned yesterday that heavy downpours will continue to lash most parts of southern China over the next 10 days, and some areas could experience torrential rain, strong gales and thunderstorms.

Precipitation in most southwest provinces, including Guizhou, Sichuan and Yunnan, will be 30 to 70 percent higher than what it was during the same period last year, the CMA said.

Downpours can raise river levels further, inundate many areas along the Pearl River and cause major flooding along the the Xijiang River, the Office of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said.

The Xijiang River, the western tributary of the Pearl River that runs through Guangxi and Guangdong, has already crossed the danger mark at many places.

It was 6.84 m above the danger level at a Wuzhou monitoring site at 2 pm on Saturday, the headquarters said.

Water in one of its sections broke its banks, threatening tens of thousands of people, local authorities said.

The force of the rising water created a 40-m crack in the Dayaochong embankment in Changzhou town, near Wuzhou, early yesterday morning, said Zhang Jinshen, an official in charge of flood control.

Water rushed into Longhua village nearby, forcing nearly 120,000 people to flee to higher grounds.

Hundreds of people were mobilized to build a temporary 5-m-high dyke with earth and sand bags near the breached section of the embankment, but the dyke was soon breached.

In the southern part of Guangdong, streets and houses in some towns along the Xijiang River have been submerged.

"A major flood is feared if the rain continues," said Huang Boqing, deputy director of the Guangdong flood control and drought relief headquarters.

At least 28 people are dead or missing in Guangdong, and more than 2.2 million people have been hit by the rain and floods, the worst in the Pearl River Delta region in 50 years.

The average daily rainfall of 415 mm in Guangdong in recent days is double that in the previous years.

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