Correspondent Colin Blane watches the water rising

Tens of thousands of Chinese worked frantically to strengthen the last remaining dyke along the Nen river to protect the Daqing oilfield and the nearby city of 2.4 million.

Soldiers joined forces with civilians to build a two metre high barricade out of sandbags.

Race against time

Officials said that a reservoir in the province was so full that water was lapping just metres below the rim of its dam.

The Daqing oilfield, which is 600 miles north-east of the Chinese capital Beijing, produces 50 million tonnes of crude oil a year and is crucial to China's economic growth.

Floodwaters have already closed down 500 of the oilfield's 25,000 wells because of water logging.

Nearby Jilin was also forced to close more than half of its wells when the river Nen burst dykes this weekend, according to officials.

New battle in Yangtse basin

In the Yangtse basin, where the worst flooding has occurred, millions of people are preparing to battle a new surge of flood waters along the river.

More than 2,000 people have been killed in the floods, and tens of millions have been left homeless.

The official Chinese news agency said deforestation and silting of lakes along the Yangtze are partly to blame for the devastating floods.