Rains linger in E China as drought persists in SW

Moderate and heavy rains will linger in east China, while the country's parched southwest regions will continue on with little or no precipitation, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said on Friday. Rains are expected to fall in central and eastern regions along the Yangtze River and Huaihe River reaches, eastern areas along the Yellow River and Huaihe River, and in southern Liaoning Province. Storms are also expected in some of these regions during the next three days, the center said. Downpours are also forecast for some parts of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from Friday to Sunday. Meanwhile, a drought will continue to linger in parts of southwest China for the next ten days. During this period, the NMC said precipitation is not expected in drought-plagued regions, including eastern Yunnan Province, southern Guizhou Province and western Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. High temperatures and scant rains have wreaked havoc on southwest China's provinces of Guizhou, Yunnan and Sichuan as well as Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the municipality of Chongqing this week. The central government has allocated over 2 billion yuan (about 312.5 million U.S. dollars) to support local drought-fighting efforts in these areas. The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters on Wednesday said it had sent work teams to drought-affected regions to help ease drought.