More than 831,400 hectares of farmland in Shaanxi Province in
northwest China, have been hit by a serious drought.
The area makes up one-third of total farmlands in the province.
Crops in some parts have already perished.
A water shortage is affecting 80,600 people and 26,300
livestock, according to the Shaanxi anti-drought office. The water
levels of major rivers have continued to fall, while some have run
dry, the office said.
Hou Simei, a farmer in Xinzhai Village in Lantian County, said
the drought had killed most of the wheat crop, and potable water
was running short.
"The last time we faced such a situation was more than 10 years
ago," Hou said.
According to the Shaanxi provincial bureau of meteorology,
precipitation since last month has been 70 to 90 percent less than
usual in most parts of the province, and the topsoil relative
humidity less than 60 percent.
"Though there was some rain early this month, the drought is
still serious in most parts of the province," said Jiang Nianchong,
a senior engineer of the Shaanxi Provincial Meteorological
Station.
The provincial bureau of water resources has urged all water
conservancy departments to make more efforts in the distribution of
water to villages.
(China Daily May 11, 2007)
