Drought hits Yellow River valley

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Source: CCTV.com | 02-07-2009 08:55

The Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters of the Yellow River has raised a drought alert to red, setting up a level-A response system to fight the water emergency.

The Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters of the Yellow River has raised a drought alert to red, setting  up a level-A response system to fight the water emergency.

Further moves have also been announced to combat drought in many of the Yellow River basins. The Xiaolangdi dam on the Yellow River is increasing its discharge rate to 700 cubic meters of water per second. It has added 311 million cubic meters of water to the lower reaches of the Yellow River since January.

Henan and Shandong Provinces are being asked to strengthen dredging of the river to help divert water to parched farmland.

So far, about 7.5 million hectares of fields along the Yellow River have been affected by the extreme dry spell.

Editor:Liu Fang