Heavy rains along the Yangtze River in the past few days have caused water level in Taihu, the country's second largest freshwater lake, to rise above the warning level, the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters (SFDH) said Sunday.

The average water level at Taihu Lake stood at 3.84 meters at 10 o'clock Sunday morning, or 34 centimeters above the level that could activate an alert of flood control around the lake, according to the office.

The situation is improving after the average water level at the lake touched 3.9 meters, the highest of this year, on Saturday afternoon and kept falling afterwards, said the office.

However, water levels of rivers and lakes near Taihu at 13 observation stations are also above the warning mark.

Floods have killed at least 94 people, left 78 others missing and forcing thousands of people to evacuate in 13 provinces in China since the start of flood season this year, according to the office.