A severe drought in southwest China has dried up hundreds of reservoirs and rivers, devastated crops and reduced available supplies of drinking water, local authorities said.

A reservior designed to hold 2.6 million cubic meters of water is seen in Zhaoyang District of Zhaotong City, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Aug. 23, 2011. [Xinhua]

The drought, which began in early July, has dried up 479 reservoirs and 349 rivers in Guizhou Province, the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters said in a statement on Thursday.

The drought has plagued 87 of the province's 88 cities and counties thus far. Last month's total rainfall levels were 69.8 percent below average, leaving over 5.5 million people short of drinking water, according to the headquarters.

The headquarters said in an earlier statement that August's precipitation levels have also been below average.

As of Thursday, nearly 1.1 million hectares of crops have been impacted by the drought, with 22,000 hectares rendered unharvestable. Nearly 3 million livestock are suffering from drinking water shortages.

The provincial government has allocated 66.09 million yuan (10.34 million U.S. dollars) in relief funds in order to provide food and water for local residents.

Although many parts of the province experienced rainfall earlier this week, meteorologists said it was not enough to ease the prolonged drought. < The province's water resource departments have been drilling wells and pumping water out of the ground in an attempt to establish a more reliable supply of drinking water and save crops.

High temperatures and scarce rainfall have also dried up more than 60 rivers and nearly 300 reservoirs in neighboring Yunnan Province, according to a statement from the Yunnan provincial government.

A total of 1.53 million people are suffering from water shortages in the province, it said.

The drought is also wreaking havoc in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, where approximately 150,000 people have been left without a steady supply of drinking water.

The region's weather modification bureau made several attempts to artificially increase precipitation during a Tuesday rainstorm, with most parts of the region receiving moderate to heavy rain as a result of their efforts.

However, the local government has warned that the drought will continue through next week, as little rain has been predicted.

The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters on Wednesday sent work teams to the drought-ravaged provinces of Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan and Sichuan and the municipality of Chongqing to assist in drought-relief operations.

According to data from the headquarters, the drought has affected a combined 5.86 million hectares of crops in those regions to date, leaving a total of 12 million people and 9.17 million livestock short of drinking water.

The central government has allocated more than 2 billion yuan to support local drought-fighting efforts.