*China drought hits water supplies to 1.6 million*

25 May 2007 00:42:14 GMT
Source: Reuters

BEIJING, May 25 (Reuters) - Nearly 1 million people in China's western
province of Gansu are short of drinking water as the area faces its
worst drought in 60 years, the official Xinhua agency reported late on
Thursday.

Another 760,000 residents in neighbouring Sichuan are also facing
shortages, even though heavy rains in the southwest caused flash floods
and landslides that killed 21 and forced 112,000 to evacuate their homes.

In parts of Gansu, after two months without any significant rainfall,
crops are expected to fail or not be planted on nearly 200,000 hectares,
Xinhua said. Water prices in the hardest-hit areas have soared as high
as 110 yuan ($14.38) per cubic metre.

In Sichuan, which last year suffered its most severe drought in half a
century, 72 counties have not had rain for at least 20 days, Zuo Xiong,
deputy director of the Sichuan provincial meteorological station said.

Both Gansu and Sichuan are considering trying to make artificial rain to
solve their problems, the report added.

China is exploring a series of massive water transfer projects to
address supply problems in a country with per-capita water resources
well below global averages.

A government report has also warned that global warming in the future is
likely to make China vulnerable to more drought in its arid north and
flooding in the south. ($1 = 7.651 Yuan)