NANCHANG -- Authorities in East China's Jiangxi province plan to spend heavily on flood control projects, an official said Wednesday.

More than 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) will be spent over the next three years on eight major projects, said Zhu Laiyou, deputy head of the province's water resources department.

The projects will help enhance flood-control capacities of embankments, reservoirs, and drainage systems in Jiangxi, said Zhu.

Since the high water season began in early June, flooding has left hundreds of people dead or missing in China. The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze and major fresh-water lakes have been swollen and caused severe flooding in southern parts of the country.

Jiangxi has seen 15 percent more rain than its average.