Droughts affect 1.17 mln central Chinese

Lingering droughts in central China's Hubei province have affected more than 1.17 million people, local authorities said Sunday.

Over 1 million people lack adequate supplies of drinking water as a result of the dry weather started from mid-July, the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters said.

The droughts have also affected 15.93 million mu (1,062,000 hectares) of farmland, said the headquarters.

The provincial government has allotted more than 600 million yuan (about 98 million US dollars) for drought relief.

The dry weather is expected to last for another ten days, according to the provincial meteorological station.