Authorities said 77.53 percent of the city has been hit by droughts. More than 6 million residents and 5.8 million livestock are facing a shortage of drinking water. The droughts have caused direct losses of 2.2 billion yuan (US$276 million).

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called for local governments to fight against droughts, Jiefang Daily reported today.

Serious droughts have hit Chongqing, Sichuan, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Ningxia, Hubei and Guizhou since summer and have brought huge loss.

The disaster relief office in southwest China's Sichuan Province said Sunday that 2.39 million people and 3.04 million heads of livestock lack drinking water.

The provincial government has spent 94.6 million yuan and installed equipment to fight the drought.