Officials in the eastern province of Anhui blew up a dike Sunday and urged 760,000 along the Huaihe river, a tributary of the mighty Yangtze, to maintain vigilance as its water levels reached a record high, federal anti-flood authorities said.

An agency spokesman told local television that 46,000 people have been evacuated, noting some 446 places where water has seeped through barricades and caused flooding.

There have been no casualties reported from the floods yet thanks to swift government action in exploding the dike to prevent its rupture, he said, while acknowledging that those who were evacuated lived in areas normally used as run-off areas to stabilize high waters.

A provincial flood prevention official who did not want to give his name said the controlled explosion occurred at around noon.