At least 8,000 houses were toppled in southwest China's Yunnan Province after a flood of discharged water hit several cities and towns.

Flood control authorities in the city of Lijiang, known for its quaint, scenic towns, said Thursday that 17,000 people had been affected by the flood on the Jinsha River that also damaged roads and hydrologic facilities.

The city's Yulong county saw about 8,000 houses destroyed and another 16,330 damaged, and 1,800 hectares of farmlands also suffered damages. No casualties have been reported so far.

On Tuesday, water was discharged from the barrier lake, which formed after a landslide blocked the Jinsha River near the border of Tibet Autonomous Region and Sichuan Province, to lower its dangerously rising water levels