Rescuers help people transfer supplies in Xiangshuitan Township of Poyang County, east China's Jiangxi Province, July 9, 2020. Several townships in Poyang County have been inundated due to continuous torrential rains. Local authorities of the county have been making all-out efforts into rescue and relief works.Photo:Xinhua

 East China's Jiangxi Province has entered a wartime footing and declared a top-level emergency response for flood control and disaster relief, while China's national water resources authority lifted its emergency response to Level Ⅱ as water levels in rivers and lakes exceeded historical records.

According to local media, the water level of Xingzi station, the landmark hydrographic station of Poyang Lake, China's largest freshwater lake, on Sunday 0:00 am reached 22.53 meters, one centimeter above the "1998 flood level of 22.52 meters," making it the highest level in the lake since hydrologic records began.

Also, as of 7:00 am on Sunday, the water level in Poyang station of the local Raohe River reached 22.74 meters, exceeding the 1998 record by 13cm and still rising.

In response to the emergencies, Jiangxi on Saturday declared a wartime state and top level emergency response.

An official in the city of Shangrao governing Poyang county, told the Global Times that a local official in Poyang reported to him on Sunday 1:55 am that they had just blocked the water-gates and all staff members from the county's authorities would go to the dam to fight the flood.

China's Ministry of Water Resources announced Sunday that since July 4, 212 rivers in China have been flooded, 72 of which have exceeded safety water levels and 19 have passed historical records. Taihu Lake, which is located at the southern edge of the Yangtze River Delta and the third largest of China's five major freshwater lakes, has exceeded warning levels for 15 days, prompting the ministry to raise the flood and drought disaster emergency response to level Ⅱ.