China’s Ministry of Finance pledged $182.65 million in aid to five regions affected by drought around the Yangtze River, according to a report by state-owned news agency Xinhua today.
But it looks as though torrential rains across the country will quench China’s thirst for water.
The People’s Republic has been preparing for pending food and energy crises after a historic low in precipitation this winter.
Affecting wheat production in China’s Northeast, Chinese authorities have worried about putting food on Chinese tables, especially after a wheat shortage in Egypt contributed to former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster after three decades in power.
China has also been in a crunch to find new sources of energy to fuel its ever-burgeoning economy, since the water shortage has threatened to temper China’s hydropower resources.
Rains are more than welcome, but the Middle Kingdom is paying the toll for precipitation in human capital.
Xinhua reported that 21 people died and 53 are missing, and at least 400,000 people have been affected after floods in Guizhou Province, to China’s Southwest.
Although rainfall has been largely concentrated in China’s South, the arid Northeast has also experienced heavy rains.
