Some 36,000 have been evacuated after heavy flooding caused by heavy rains in the south-eastern Chinese province of Fujian, news agency Xinhua reported Sunday citing local authorities.
Large parts of Fujian have been devastated by days of severe rainfall, leading the authorities to issue the evacuation order, according to the report.
Some 179,800 were affected by the rainfall as of Saturday evening, Xinhua reported.
Flooding has damaged 12,350 hectares of harvest, amounting to some $225 million in direct losses.
Between Saturday morning and Sunday morning, some hydrological stations in 11 rivers in the province had reported water levels of up to 3.65 metres above the warning level. By Sunday morning, the water levels at seven stations remained above this mark.
Further heavy rainfall was forecast for several regions, Chinese authorities warned on Sunday evening.
According to the National Meteorological Centre, parts of the south-eastern provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan and Guangdong, and further west the provinces of Guizhou, Guangxi, Sichuan and Yunnan are expected to be hit by severe rainfall or storms on Monday.
Severe downpours including rainfall of more than 70 millimetres per hour and thunderstorms were forecast, the centre said.
The Ministry of Water Resources and the Meteorological Department issued a level orange warning, its second highest.
For some areas in south-west Zhejiang and northern Fujian, the highest red warning alert was issued due to the threat of mountain streams overflowing.
Local authorities have been asked to take precautionary measures.