CHONGQING - Southwest China's Chongqing municipality is continuing to suffer from a drought that began in August 2011, with the sprawling city's rural areas left particularly vulnerable, a local government spokesman said.

The drought has left almost 250,000 people and 120,000 livestock short of drinking water, said a spokesman with the local flood control and drought relief headquarters.

The drought has also withered 37,667 hectares of crops, the spokesman said.

The government has dispatched relief teams to drought-stricken areas to oversee disaster relief operations, he added.