The water level of the Jiujiang section of the Yangtze River was 3 meters above the danger level on Sunday and was still rising, local authorities said.

Faced with the grim situation, the government in Jiujiang, Jiangxi, decided on Sunday to evacuate residents from its Jiangzhou Island. All people younger than 18 or older than 65 will be evacuated before Monday. People aged between 18 and 65, apart from those who are sick or disabled, have to stay to help fight the flood.

From July 6 to Sunday, floods had affected about 5.5 million people in Jiangxi, with 475,000 people being evacuated from flood-prone areas.