More than 6,000 people have been forced to evacuate after a reservoir burst its banks Friday in south China's Hainan Province, according to local disaster control authorities.

The Chizhi Reservoir in Wenchang City of Hainan breached its dikes around 5:00 AM, trapping 6,137 residents in nine villages of Huiwen and Wencheng townships, said Yang Yunxian, a provincial disaster control official.

"The breach was more than 20 meters wide, and the water in the inundated villages ran as deep as four meters," he said.

All of the trapped residents had been evacuated to safe places, and no casualties had been reported, said Yang.

Heavy rains began pounding the region Sept. 30, causing the water level of the reservoir to rise to 62.6 meters, 1.3 meters above its warning line.

(Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2010)