The Jiangsu provincial flood control headquarters Sunday announced the flood emergency state was freed on Hongze Lake and at the lower reaches of the Huaihe River as the water level had dropped below the warning line.

The flood emergency state was declared on July 9 when the worst flooding since 1991 occurred on the Huaihe River and the water level in Hongze Lake remained high.

Over the last few days, the flood water in the main stream of Huaihe has kept receding for days, along with falling water level in Hongze Lake and the lower reaches of Huaihe, which traverses in Jiangsu Province, east China.

Around 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, the water level at Jiangba hydrological station on Hongze Lake, a key hydrological facility on the lake, fell to 13.43 m, slightly below the danger line.

Meanwhile, the provincial flood control headquarters warned all localities to be prepared for possible typhoon and rainstorms and continue to do a good job in flood control as it takes time for the 7 billion cubic meters of flood water from the upper and middle reaches of the river to enter the sea.

(Xinhua News Agency August 3, 2003)