The water level in Hongze Lake in east China's Jiangsu Province continues to climb due to the continuous heavy rain throughout the region.

By 8:00 a.m. Thursday, the water level in the lake had reached 14.14 meters, 0.64 meters above the flood warning line and also 0.08 meters above the maximum reached in 1999, when the lake was hit by one of the worst floods in China's history.

On Wednesday, Jiangsu declared a flood emergency at Hongze and the lower reaches of the Huaihe River that flow into Hongze.

Meanwhile, some 68,000 people living near Hongze were evacuated in preparation for water diversion from the Lake.

(People's Daily July 10, 2003)