About 4 million people are fighting a lasting drought that has
been affecting almost 2 million people and 65 percent of the
farmland in northeast China's Liaoning and Jilin provinces for
nearly a month.
In Liaoning, more than 1.6 million people and 733,700 head of
livestock are suffering from drinking water shortage, 159
reservoirs have dried up, and 44,507 wells have experienced
insufficient water output, according to statistics from the
Liaoning Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief
Headquarters.
The drought, the worst to hit Liaoning since records began in
1951, has affected more than 2 million hectares of farmland, or 65
percent of the province's total, statistics show.
More than 2 million people have been mobilized to combat the
drought in the province.
In Jilin, 333,500 people and 351,500 head of livestock are
facing water shortage, and the drought has also affected nearly 2.7
million hectares of farmland, 65 percent of the province's total,
according to statistics from the Jilin Provincial Flood Control and
Drought Relief Headquarters.
Jilin has spent nearly 300 million yuan (US$37.5 million) for
disaster relief and dispatched about 2 million people to combat the
drought.
High temperatures and inadequate rainfall since the beginning of
June are said to be the cause of the drought.
(Xinhua News Agency June 25, 2007)
