The provincial command for flood, typhoon and drought relief said Monday that 159,447 hectares of farmland were affected — 42,320 hectares severely. More than 7,500 hectares were dry and 66,400 hectares of rice fields lacked water, the Information Times reported.

The command called on people to prepare for the worst of the drought which could last until winter or even spring.

The average level of water stored in reservoirs was more than 21 percent lower than the same period last year and the water level in rivers has been falling.

Shaoguan and Qingyuan had suffered most while Zhanjiang, Meizhou, Yunfu, Heyuan, Zhaoqing and Nan’ao of Shaotou were also hit hard.

A total of 47.78 million yuan (US$5.77 million) has been spent and 1.25 million people employed on drought relief in the province. A shortage of drinking water for some 96,500 has been eased for the time being.

Showers in Shaoguan at the beginning of August were far from enough to ease the drought after six weeks on unusually high temperatures.

(Shenzhen Daily August 13, 2003)