Over 60,000 people hit by drought in SW China

NANNING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- More than 63,000 people in southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region are affected by drought, the regional civil affairs department said Friday.

The department said that some parts of Guangxi are experiencing drought conditions due to ongoing high temperatures without precipitation.

Statistics released by the department showed that, as of Friday, among the over 63,000 affected people, around 1,400 need subsidies for their lost crops and over 500 face drinking water shortages.

It said that more than 4,000 hectares of crops have been affected, resulting in direct economic losses of 7.6 million yuan (1.2 million U.S. dollars).