Over 2m in SW China face drinking water shortage
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-08-06 18:56
CHENGDU -- The disaster relief office in southwest China's Sichuan Province
said Sunday that 2.39 million people and 3.04 million heads of livestock are
facing a shortage of drinking water due to drought.
Most parts of Sichuan Basin have reported relative higher temperatures and
less precipitation since the beginning of this year, sources with the office
said.
According to statistics from the Sichuan meteorological bureau, 53 counties
were hit by drought in spring and 113 were hit in summer.
By the end of last month, 61.2 percent of small-scale water works in
drought-stricken areas have dried up, resulting in total crop failure on some
120,000 hectares of farmland. Nearly 1.1 million hectares of farmland have been
affected.
The provincial government has spent 94.6 million yuan (US$11.8 million) and
put equipment to fight the drought, said the sources.
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