Prolonged drought hits parts of north, east China

TAIYUAN, Jan. 7 (Chinese media) -- Six provinces in north

and east China are battling a prolonged drought that has affected water supplies

for people, livestock and agriculture.

Nearly 1 million people and 160,000 head of livestock

in Shanxi have faced difficulties getting drinking water due to the prolonged

drought since October, the provincial flood control and drought relief

headquarters said on Wednesday.

The province has had no rain since late November, it

said, and the drought has affected 520,000 hectare of wheat land, 140,000 ha

severely.

Irrigation facilities were fully commissioned and new

wells were dug. Staff are being organized to transport drinking water to people

who have difficulties getting it.

The drought has also hit other provinces such as

Shandong, Henan, Hebei, Anhui and Gansu, all major wheat producers.

Anhui water resource authorities said the affected

areas had mobilized more than 600,000 people and commissioned 30,000 wells to

combat drought, with subsidies for farmers in certain areas.

The Ministry of Agriculture said Tuesday the six

provinces had had 5.42 million ha of drought-hit cropland, almost five times the

area last year.

The ministry said it had dispatched working teams to

the provinces to help with the drought relief work.

A full calculation of the number of people short of

drinking water is not available.