East China province invests heavily in drought relief

NANCHANG -- East China's Jiangxi province has invested a total of 796 million yuan (about $113.3 million) in drought relief, according to the provincial emergency management department on Sunday.

Due to sustained high temperature and limited rainfall, about 4.87 million people were affected by the prolonged drought as of the beginning of this month in Jiangxi. A total of 452,100 hectares of cropland were affected, with 82,100 hectares completely destroyed.

So far, about 2.25 million personnel have been involved in the drought-relief work. The province has also sent pumping equipment and anti-drought facilities to guarantee the drinking water supply for residents and livestock, helping to reduce the economic losses by about 2 billion yuan.

The drought is forecast to develop as dry weather continues this month, according to the local meteorological department.