140,000 people nationwide short of drinking water  

国家防总：中国当前有14万人因旱饮水困难

国家防总12日发布消息称，中国东北、西南旱区降雨旱情明显缓解，但仍有14万人因旱饮水困难。

Beijing (CNS) -- Across the country 140,000 people still face drinking water shortages despite relief brought by heavy rainfall in northeastern and southwestern regions, according to the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters on Tuesday.

Several teams have been dispatched to Yunnan, Sichuan, Hebei, Shanxi, Gansu, Hebei and Shandong to relieve local droughts, an effort backed by total funding of 610 million yuan (US$95.76 million), the agency said.

Statistics show 15.87 million people nationwide have been assigned to drought control tasks this year, 1.25 million mechanical wells have been dug, 21,000 pump stations have been built, and 1.91 million drought-resisting devices have been adopted.