Follow us on:   

China enforces emergency plan for drought
August 9, 2013, 4:57 am

1.15 million hectares of Chinese farmland have been affected [Xinhua]

1.15 million hectares of Chinese farmland have been affected [Xinhua]

China has put into action a level four emergency plan to battle severe drought in the central Jiangxi and Hubei provinces where an estimated 11.53 million people have been affected.

The Chinese government has allocated 1.65 billion yuan to fight the drought.

Around 2.9 million Chinese people have been left without access to drinking water, according to civil authorities. Local governments have allocated eight million yuan to provide safe drinking water.

The drought has caused the state exchequer a direct loss of 4.7 billion yuan ($760 million) says China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA).

An estimated 1.15 million hectares of Chinese farmland have been affected and according to a MCA report, 114,000 hectares will bear no harvests.

China sounded its first red light of the year for extreme hot weather as temperatures soared over 40 degree Celsius in the cities of Huangshi, Xianning, Huanggang, and Ezhou.

The central government has allocated 460 million yuan ($75.16 million) to ease the drought and prevent floods, the Ministry of Finance announced today.

Source: Agencies