Central China Suffers Severe Drought

[http://ce.cei.gov.cn/enew/new_e1/e42e0e31.htm]

Central China's Hubei Province has been hit by severe drought, with more than one million hectares of crops affected.

According to local sources, the worst-hit area is the northwestern part of the province, where there has been only 70 mm of rainfall since January.

The flow of water has stopped in many local rivers, more than 100,000 ponds have dried up, and there is less water in 1,000 major reservoirs in the province.

In the valley of the Hanjiang River, the largest tributary of the Yangtze River, 749,000 head of livestock are suffering from the lack of water. People in some rural areas have had to get drinking water from dozens of kilometers away.

By now, some two million local residents have been mobilized to combat the drought, and about 100 million yuan (US$12 million) and 200,000 pieces of equipment have been used to support the drought-relief efforts.

(05/11/2000)