At least one fisherman died and three others went missing as the worst flooding in decades wreaked havoc in south China's island province of Hainan, local authorities said on October 7.

By late October 7, more than 210,000 people had been evacuated after about 1,160 villages were submerged by floodwaters, caused by the heaviest torrential rains in Hainan since 1961.

Additionally, 111 fishing boats were damaged and another 28 had sunk off the coast after the rains began on September 30, said Yang Yunxian, a provincial disaster control official.

Economic losses caused by the floods were estimated at about 1.13 billion yuan ($169 million), Yang said.

The armed police headquarters of Hainan said more than 1,500 soldiers and 45 rescue boats had been dispatched for rescue work.

On October 7, local authorities used explosives to blast a reservoir twice in the provincial capital Haikou to reduce rapidly rising water levels that threatened to collapse the dam.