A dike breach occurred in the Juanshui River in central China's Hunan Province at about 20:00 Sunday, local authorities said.
By 21:40, the breach in Yisuhe Township of Xiangtan County had widened to about 50 meters, according to the flood control and drought relief headquarters of Xiangtan City.
More than 3,100 people have been evacuated, and no casualties have been reported.
China's Ministry of Emergency Management urged efforts to evacuate the affected people, mobilize professional personnel, materials and equipment, and ensure the safety of the local people and rescuers.
An emergency rescue center under the ministry has dispatched over 200 rescuers with 110 units of equipment to the affected area to provide emergency support. Local firefighting authorities have also sent 266 rescuers, 47 vehicles and 37 boats to the area.
More than 600 soldiers stationed in Hunan Province carried with over 60 speedboats, together with 200 armed police officers, rushed to the scene for rescue tasks.
The China Railway Limited Group also sent four units of large equipment and 30 rescuers to join the rescue and evacuation operation. Local rescue teams and the Beijing Blue Sky Rescue Team have already joined the rescue efforts.
On Sunday, another dike breach occurred in a section of the Juanshui River in Huashi Township, Xiangtan County, authorities said.
The river flows into the Xiangjiang River, a major tributary of the Yangtze River.
Evacuation and emergency response efforts are still underway.
The ministry said Saturday that Hunan would experience heavy rainstorms and parts of the province would see "extremely heavy rainstorms from Saturday evening to Monday" due to the impact of Typhoon Gaemi.
Dike breaches occur in central China river, over 3,100 people evacuated
A high-level mediation team from the African Union (AU) Commission has been dispatched to Juba, capital of South Sudan, to try to ease the rising tensions between President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar, and help resolve the current political crisis in the country.
Riek Machar and several senior officials have been detained since clashes erupted in January between the South Sudan People's Defense Forces and the opposition fighters.
Machar was accused of instigating violence in Nasir in the northern part of the country.
The mediation team says it plans to engage Machar, but that meeting is yet to take place.
The AU is urging South Sudanese political leaders to resolve the current disagreement through dialogue.
Machar heads the largest opposition group that has an armed wing in the country, known as SPLM/A-IO.
South Sudan's government says it's still investigating Machar for being allegedly involved in clashes between government troops and armed civilians affiliated to SPLM/A-IO in Nasir.
"The mandate of the RTGoNU (the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity) is simple; that we stop war, we form a revitalized government of national unity so that we return security, sustainable peace in the country," said Martin Elia Lomuro, South Sudan's Minister of Cabinet Affairs.
Meanwhile, Machar's party members are calling on president Kiir to order the release of their leader.
The group argues that the arrest of Machar means the 2018 peace deal which ended five years of violence in the country has partially collapsed.
The government reaffirms its commitment to the implementation of the 2018 peace deal.
It says Mr. Machar is in conflict with the law and that the implementation of the peace deal should not be used as cover to commit crime. However, until now, South Sudanese law enforcement agencies have not charged Machar with any offense in a court of law.
South Sudan, which became independent in 2011, signed a peace deal in 2018 that ended a civil war between forces loyal to Kiir and Machar. Nearly 400,000 people died in the civil war.
Relations between Kiir and Machar, who have dominated South Sudan's politics for decades, remain strained. The clashes and latest political tensions between the two leaders have unsettled many citizens and the international community.
AU dispatches Panel of Wise to address ongoing instability in South Sudan
