In parts of Gansu, after two months without any significant rainfall, crops are expected to fail or not be planted on nearly 200,000 hectares, Xinhua said. Water prices in the hardest-hit areas have soared as high as 110 yuan (US$14.38) per cubic metre.
Another 760,000 residents in neighbouring Sichuan are also facing shortages, even though heavy rains in the southwest caused flash floods and landslides that killed 21 and forced 112,000 to evacuate their homes.
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