More than 900 cargo ships have been held up at a section of a river in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region due to low water level amid continuous drought, the local maritime authority said Monday.

A severe drought began to hit Guangxi in early August. The average water level in Changzhou ship lock in Wuzhou City dropped by nearly three meters as of Monday, said Ou Jianfei, an officer with the Wuzhou Maritime Detachment.

Ships with a load draught of more than 1.8 meters are not allowed to pass the ship lock at present for safety concerns.

During the wet season, the ship lock allows passage of ships with a load draught of up to 4.5 meters.

The bureau has applied for water diversion from three reservoirs at the upper reaches of the Xijiang River that runs through Wuzhou and Guangxi.

The situation could turn worse if there is no major rainfall before December, the start of a dry season of Xijiang.