Rain-battered parts of south China faced the threat of landslides and fresh floods on Thursday, when Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited a city threatened by a burst river dyke, according to Reuters. The Chinese government has rushed troops, food and tents to flood-hit regions, where millions of residents have been displaced by pelting rain that has swollen rivers and dams. Wen Jiabao visited Fuzhou, a flood-hit city in Jiangxi province, to meet residents and urge on the thousands of troops and civilian rescue workers, Xinhua news agency reported. The Communist Party-run government has mounted a heavily publicised show of national unity against adversity. The threat from the flooding is not over yet. Rescuers in Changkai town, near Fuzhou, were slowed by rain as they tried to reach residents perched in flooded towns and villages. "Our two boats will go out today to rescue people. But comparatively, the difficulty of our rescue work will increase today compared to days when it is not raining," said one civilian rescue worker, Zhou Fuyu. "Rain affects a person's vision and it also creates difficulty for us when manoeuvring the rescue boat". The flood-battered Changkai dyke near Fuzhou suffered a fresh breach on Wednesday. About 100,000 residents fled after a first break in its wall late on Monday. More heavy rain could slow, even reverse, efforts to reseal the dyke, which officials told the official Xinhua news agency could take days. "We were just preparing to repair the breach. If it rains and if the water flow in the river is strong, there is still a possibility that there would be further breaches in the dyke," the rescue worker Zhou added. In Fengcheng, another small city in Jiangxi, a 50,000 square-metre slice of a rain-sodden mountainside threatened to slide off and crush homes, Xinhua reported. Officials ordered rescue workers to move threatened residents. Hundreds of troops with earth-moving equipment worked to avert a massive slide. Water levels in the Changkai town and neighbouring villages fell slightly from Wednesday night. With ankle-deep water at some places, some residents recovered wet belongings and prepared to stay in their homes, resisting officials' urging that they move to temporary relief centres set up in the Fuzhou city centre. Xiong Dongmei, 38, said she was undecided on whether to stay or go. "The flood water receded yesterday. When the water level rises, our concern is that we are unable to buy food and other items here," she said. The Ministry of Civil Affairs said heavy rain across much of southern China over the past week has killed at least 211 people and left 119 missing as rivers broke their banks and landslides severed road and rail links. More than 2.4 million people have been evacuated, although many are moved only short distances. The floods have caused economic losses of around 42.12 billion yuan ($6.2 billion), the ministry said on Wednesday.
