(0516 CR M11)DROUGHT SOAKS UP RESERVOIRS

(0516 CR M11)DROUGHT SOAKS UP RESERVOIRS DATELINE: May 16, 2011 LENGTH: 00:01:02 VO Lingering drought in central China's Hubei Province has made some 1,400 reservoirs virtually useless in the area. The drought has lasted for five months in Hubei, which boast a name of "land of a thousand lakes". Lakes and reservoirs have been left "dead" with scarce amount of usable water. Local water authority said the water in the region's medium- and small-sized reservoirs had dropped below the level allowed for discharge as of Sunday. One fourth of the small-sized reservoirs were left with little water that could only be pumped for emergent use. The Danjiangkou Reservoir, which is part of China's massive south-to-north water diversion project, also posted extremely low water level. So far, the drought had left about 315,000 people and 97,000 livestock short of drinking water in the area. About 830,000 hectares of farmland have also been affected. Powered by www.newslook.com

The Video News Portal | May 16, 2011

Tags:. .farmland. .hectares. .scarce. .small. .south