Dried-up lakes rouse pest worries

Beijing - Experts worry that a destructive vole will find a congenial home in the large expanses of the Dongting Lake bed that have been exposed during the current drought and will infest nearby places.

Dongting Lake in Central China's Hunan province, China's second largest fresh water lake, often plays an important role in mitigating floods along the Yangtze River region. Not so this year.

Since January, between 50 percent and 60 percent less rain has fallen on the region than had on average in previous years. Water in the lake usually stands at its highest point in May, but that high point now isn't likely to come until later in 2011.