3.17 mln lack drinking water in SW China

Lingering drought in southwest China's Guizhou Province has been partly relieved by rainfall in most part of the province in the past two days, but still left more than three million people short of drinking water, local authorities said Saturday.

More than 17.06 million people in 1,311 towns have been affected by the drought since July, with 3.17 million lacking drinking water, according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.

Some 1.34 million hectares of farmland have been affected in the drought. About 1.49 million head of cattle also lack drinking water.

The drought has caused economic losses of 9.54 billion yuan (about 1.56 billion U.S. dollars). according to initial calculations.

The provincial civil affairs department has allocated 98.75 million yuan for drought relief efforts.

The drought will continue next week, said the provincial meteorological station, adding that showers in the next three days will continue relieving the drought.