Repair work on the last major break on the levee protecting 34,000 residents from floods in Jiangxi Province is to be finished this weekend, the local authority said. Half of the breaks had been sealed by Thursday, it said. 

Zhongzhou dike, part of the levee along China's largest freshwater lake – Poyang – burst last week due to non-stop rain, leaving a break of up to 180 meters long and prompting the evacuation of people living along the waterway.

The downpours expanded the lake by 25 percent. Villages, farmlands were submerged when the rising lake shattered levees.

Ding Feng, head from the relocation team of Chengao Village, told CGTN that residents were notified immediately when the dike was breached. On the day, about 17,500 were evacuated to five sites in neighboring counties. Others went to stay with relatives outside the affected area.

According to the construction team, repairing one meter of the new embankment requires rocks from about 50 trucks. So far, up to 800 trucks have been mobilized to rebuild the levee.

Wu Shiming, manager of the project with Annen Group, said the repair work was tough in the beginning.

"When we arrived, there was a strong current with a depth of nine meters," said Wu. "The embankment was too narrow to accommodate two trucks, so we decided to use larger ones to be able to repair the breach quickly. 

"Next, our team will reinforce the levee to ensure its defense against any huge floods."