About 5,000 residents in Xiantao and another 25,000 in southeast Wuhan were evacuated overnight.

The water diversion system was last put to use in 2005 when the level of Hanjiang reached 35 meters.

If the water were not diverted, dikes guarding two of the three major districts in Wuhan and nearby Hanchuan City might be breached, local water resources officials said earlier.

In Hanchuan, closer to Wuhan, tens of thousands of soldiers, armed police and residents were ordered to guard the city's 161 kilometers of dikes and flood prevention facilities around the clock.

A contingency team of 2,000 experienced emergency workers and 1,000 armed police was stationed in Hanchuan, ready to fix dike breaches as soon as possible, local officials told Xinhua. Rocks, sandbags, earth and steel nets were prepared.

The level of Hanjiang is forecast to peak at 32.05 meters, over the 31.16-meter danger line, when it passes Hanchuan at 11 p.m. Wednesday, provincial water resources officials said.

In Wuhan, local flood control authority has raised the alert level to the second highest level, triggering the mobilization of emergency workers and the military. The highest level signals possible closures of schools and factories and the mobilization of millions of the city's adult residents to join the flood prevention efforts.

But officials were confident that the worst scenario could be avoided as flood control systems, including the Three Gorges Dam, were working well and no major rains are forecast in the near future.

In Yichang City, the Three Gorges Dam experienced the highest water flow of the year -- about 56,000 cubic meters per second.

The dam withstood the flow with a discharge rate of 40,000 cubic meters per second, accumulating 16,000 cubic meters of water per second in the reservoir.

After passing the dam, the flood peak is expected to flow through the mainstream of the Yangtze River and reach Wuhan before Thursday.

Rainstorms have lashed a dozen provinces this summer, including Shaanxi, Sichuan, Henan, Jilin, and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, triggering floods and landslides.

China's flood control authorities said that floods had left 928 people dead and 477 missing as of 9 a.m. Wednesday.

In Jilin, more than 200 rescue workers have been sent to Kouqian Town to reach 30,000 residents thought to be trapped after a nearby reservoir overflowed.

The local train station was also surrounded by water with over 80 people trapped inside.

Meanwhile, rescuers are still searching for 21 missing people after a massive rain-triggered landslide buried 58 homes in the southwestern province of Sichuan on Tuesday.