Continuous severe drought over the past two months has left 520,000 people short of drinking water and thousands of hectares of cropland damaged in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

So far, some 74 counties and cities across the region were hit by the drought, affecting millions of people. Among the drought-hit counties and cities, 19 were severely affected, resulting into shortage of drinking water on 520,000 people.

Meanwhile, 101,700 hectares of cropland was damaged and 88,000 hectares became harvestless, causing an economic loss of 407.15 million yuan (about US$51 million).

The cause of the drought is sustained high temperatures and little autumn rainfall, according to local drought relief officials and meteorological experts.

This summer, 18.03 million people in 15 provinces and regions were suffering drinking water shortages caused by the drought, according to the Ministry of Water Resources.

The drought, the worst in 50 years, has affected more than 130 million hectares of cropland and more than 17 million heads of livestock were under reduced water supplies.

(Xinhua News Agency October 20, 2006)