More than 300 workers and soldiers have narrowed the 400-meter dike breach by 30 meters as of 1:00 PM Friday in east China's Jiangxi Province, as floods that have killed 211 people ravaged the south of the country for the 11th day.

The Fuhe River in Fuzhou City breached its banks for a second time early Wednesday, two days after a dike on another section of the river burst, forcing the evacuation of 100,000 people, according to the provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

The first breach was 400 meters wide. Workers would try to narrow it down by at least 60 meters Friday and fix it completely in six days, said Fan Tianyin, a senior officer of the hydropower engineering force of the armed police.

Fan said they had filled in the breach with over 1,000 cubic meters of rocks and sand by 1:00 PM and planned to dump 2,000 cubic meters more by Saturday.

"We did not plan to fix the second breach, 130 meters wide, for now, but rather use it to channel out water. At the same time, we will keep a close eye on it to make sure it would not cause trouble," said Hong Quanxiang with the provincial Water Resources Department.

As the breach is narrowed, water would flow faster making it more difficult to block it completely, said Fan.

"What we most worry about is when can the breach be fixed and people return home," said Luo Hongliu whose parents had been evacuated from a nearby village.

Fan said they would do their utmost to fix it in six days and not let the people down.

Prices of the most basic necessities had not jumped after 100,000 people were relocated to the downtown area of Fuzhou. Only vegetables were slightly pricier.

Fuzhou has 20 resettlements accommodating over 30,000 people while the other 70,000 are staying with relatives and friends. The municipal civil affairs bureau has distributed 50,000 kg of rice, 20,000 boxes of bottled water, 15,000 boxes of instant noodles and 12,000 boxes of biscuits.

(Xinhua News Agency June 27, 2010)