North suffering worst drought in 5 yrs

The northern region has been hit by the most severe drought in five years, a senior official with the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said yesterday.

The drought has spread fast and many areas are facing challenges in releasing stored water to offset the shortage, Tian Yitang, deputy director of the headquarters, was quoted by the Xinhua News Agency as saying.

The drought is affecting all of the Northeast as well as important cropland in the North and Northwest. It has caused a drinking water shortage that has spread to 5.82 million residents and 5.43 million livestock, figures from the headquarters showed on Wednesday.