China Battling Severe DroughtChina is going all out to fight against a devastating drought that has ravaged northern China. More than 40 million people are battling the severe drought every day, said officials from the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters Monday.Funds for drought relief have reached 830 million yuan (about 100 million U.S. dollars) since early this year, the officials said. Workers have used 6.12 million sets of machines and equipment and dug more than 2.2 million wells to provide water for drought- stricken areas. The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters is mobilizing more people to provide water for schools, hospitals and remote areas hit by droughts. Statistics show that a total of 14.4 million hectares of crops had been affected by droughts in China; 13.7 million head of livestock had not had access to enough water by June 13. Northern China is hit by the worst drought since 1990 this year. Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi and Gansu have suffered from the prolonged drought. |
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