Water level of China's largest freshwater lake reaches peak

The water level of Poyang Lake in east China's Jiangxi Province reached 22.72 meters as of early Sunday, the highest ever recorded by the Xingzi Hydrometric Station on the lake.  

The last peak level was 22.52 meters, which was recorded in 1998, when severe floods hit China.

Poyang Lake is the largest freshwater lake in China. 

Over 1,500 soldiers from the Eastern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army have arrived in Poyang County to combat rain and flooding in the area.  

As of Saturday afternoon, over 5.2 million people have been affected, and 430,000 more have been relocated in regions along Poyang Lake, according to officials.   

Jiangxi Province on Saturday raised its flood-control response from level II to level I, the top level of China's four-tier emergency response for floods.