BEIJING - Rains pelting parts of central and southern China have forced tens of thousands of people to escape rising rivers and prompted the government to demand safety checks on vulnerable dams, news reports said on Thursday, warning of fresh downpours.

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The downpours have ended a drought in many areas, but now menace the Yangtze River basin and nearby provinces with floods and mudslides that have killed at least 105 people.

In Jiangxi province in east China, troops helped 122,400 residents move from vulnerable low-lying areas, said the China News Service. In Hubei province in the centre, downpours two days ago triggered a landslide that left six people missing and blocked the Pingdu River, forcing 2,000 residents to flee in case the wall of mud and debris gave way to a wall of water.

"Many small dams face major hazards," said China's Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters (fxkh.mwr.gov.cn), adding that "all areas must pay high attention to the safety of dams and hydro stations."

Forecasters warned that rains expected over coming days could bring fresh dangers, including in the country's southwest.

"Tonight the rains will start from Sichuan province and Chongqing and move east," said meteorologist Li Xiaoquan, according to China's weather news website (www.weather.com.cn).

The national forecaster also said torrential showers could hit Guangdong, the export-driven province next to Hong Kong.

The floods and mudslides from the torrential rains have killed at least 105 people and another 65 were missing, the state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday. No official tally of the total number of deaths has been issued since then.