Local emergency response authorities are using helicopters to speed up repair work on a dyke that burst last week, driving over 4,000 residents from their homes. It is the first time in Hubei that helicopters have been used to repair a dam. The breach in the Fuhe River dry embankment, about 40 meters long, also flooded around 16,000 mu (about 1,066 hectares) of farmland. With the help of the two choppers, the repair work is expected to be completed by July 17.