CHONGQING: Many regions in the country are in the grip of severe drought
which has led to drinking water shortages for more than 10 million people,
affected millions of hectares of farmland and caused a loss of at least 9.9
billion yuan (US$1.24 billion).
The worst drought in 50 years has
turned farmland in Bishan county of Chongqing into barren land. [China
Daily]
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Searing heat has evolved into a crisis that has forced Chongqing the
worst-affected to introduce contingency plans for power and water supplies.
The municipal government is advising people to seek shelter from high
temperatures, which hovered above 40 C in the past week, and allowed employees
to take days off from work till conditions become more bearable.
Temperatures in suburban Qijiang county soared to 44.5 C on Wednesday a
national record for 53 years and the once-busy streets were almost empty
yesterday as most people chose to stay at home.
Chongqing, a city of 31 million, is the hardest hit by the drought
nationwide. It has had no rain for more than 70 days and two-thirds of its
rivers have gone dry, local drought-relief authorities said yesterday.
More than 7.7 million people and 7.2 million head of cattle face a shortage
of drinking water in the 40 districts and counties, said He Lingyun, a disaster
relief official with the municipal government.
"This is the worst drought to hit Chongqing in 50 years," he said.
About 2.7 million hectares of crops in Chongqing and neighbouring Sichuan
Province have been destroyed, with the total loss reaching 9.9 billion yuan,
according to local agriculture authorities.
Water is rationed in the downtown areas of Chongqing, and farmers have to
trudge long distances in the countryside to fetch it.
Most crops have withered under the scorching sun, and at least 1.3 million
hectares of farmland has been affected, said He.
Li Shikui from Huangjing Village of Qijiang estimated that more than 70 per
cent of the rice crop of the village would be destroyed and "we might have food
shortages next year."
Gu Qixiu, a villager in Zhangguan town, Yubei District, said "the village
well has gone dry and even the dusty water at the bottom has been scooped up."
Chongqing has mobilized 6.2 million people and more than 13,000 vehicles, and
allocated 140 million yuan (US$17.5 million) to combat the drought.
The local meteorological station forecast that the hot weather would continue
till the month-end.
Elsewhere in the country:
3 million people in Sichuan Province do not have adequate drinking water.
In Central China's Hunan Province, drinking water shortages have affected
270,000 people since June. The temperature has topped 40 C over the past days.
More than 333,000 hectares of farmland in 40 cities and counties across Hunan
has been affected.
Gansu, Ningxia, and Inner Mongolia in the northwestern and northern parts of
the country have also been affected by severe drought.
The Central Meteorological Administration forecast yesterday that the
temperatures in eastern Xinjiang, southern Shaanxi, areas south of the Yangtze
River, and central Anhui are expected to range from 35-41 C.
Xinhua contributed to the story
(China Daily 08/18/2006 page1)