China Daily, 2011-08-25 16:06
(Xinhua)
GUIYANG - A severe drought in Southwest China has dried up hundreds of
reservoirs and rivers, devastated farm fields and made drinking water
scarce, local authorities said.
The drought, which has lasted since early July, has dried up 479
reservoirs and 349 rivers in Guizhou province, the provincial flood
control and drought relief headquarters said in a statement on Thursday.
The drought has plagued 86 of the province's 88 cities and counties as
last month's total rainfall was 69.8-percent below average, leaving over
5.5 million people short of drinking water, according to the headquarters.
The headquarters said earlier that rainfall in August was also below
average.
As of Thursday, nearly 1.1 million hectares of crops have been affected
by the drought and 2.78 million heads of livestock were suffering from
the drinking water shortage.
Many parts of the province have embraced this week's rainfall, but,
according to the statement, it did not rain long enough to ease the drought.
The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters on Wednesday
sent work teams to Guizhou, as well as the other drought-ravaged
southern provinces of Yunnan, Hunan, Sichuan and Chongqing municipality,
to assist in drought-relief operations.
According to the provincial headquarters' statement, Guizhou has
allocated 640 million yuan (about $200 million) in drought relief.
Meanwhile, the province's water resource departments have been drilling
wells and pumping water out of the ground to ensure a supply of drinking
water and save crops, it said.
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