At least 53,000 people in east China's Anhui Province?have insufficient drinking water because of a severe drought that has persisted for the last two months.

Rainfall has been 60 percent less than the average for the past two months, affecting drinking water supplies in three counties in Anqing City, and almost 470,000 hectares of farmland across the province.

The provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters said on Wednesday that the total rainfall in north Anhui was less than 20 millimeters in the last 60 days, only 15 percent of the average.

Precipitation in the South was also about half compared with the same period in previous years.

There has been hardly any rainfall in Anqing since September, which has caused many ponds to dry up. Water levels in rivers are also running dangerously low.

The local government is using tractors and fire engines to transport water to affected areas.

The drought had affected at least 467,000 hectares of farmland, the headquarters said, of which more than 60,000 hectares are now barren.

The provincial government has, so far, allocated 146 million yuan (US$ 18.3 million) to drought relief efforts.

But the local meteorological department has forecast the drought could worsen with no sign of heavy rainfall anytime soon.

(Xinhua News Agency November 8, 2006)