CHINA> Regional
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Yellow River water helps fight drought
By Jiao Deren and Ma Chenguang (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-11 07:42 ZHENGZHOU -- Drought-stricken areas along the 5,464-km-long Yellow River - China's second-largest watercourse - have brought water to parched croplands by increasing the flow from dams and water-diversion channels in the lower reaches.
Half of Henan's and 35 percent of Shandong's irrigation needs have been satisfied through the measures, and the authority will continue closely monitoring and adjusting water flows, An added. Drought has parched 6.66 million hectares of farmland along the Yellow River in Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Shandong provinces since YRCC issued a drought alert on Jan 6. That includes 1.44 million "severely affected" hectares and 98,700 "less-affected" hectares, An, who is also director of YRCC's water resources scheduling bureau, said. The Yellow River flows through nine provinces, with a 795,000-sq-km basin area. It waters 12 million hectares of cultivated land. Water diversion in Henan and Shandong nearly doubled to 651 million cu m compared with the same period last year, reaching a record high since 1999, An said. |