Almost a million people in parts of Ningxia Hui autonomous region affected by a drought are now assured of access food and drinking water.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs and the China National Commission for Disaster Reduction have sent relief teams to Ningxia, where precipitation in July averaged only 11.1mm, 70 percent less than normal.

High temperatures, lack of rainfall and inadequate water storage have affected 989,000 people and 603,000 are in need of basic supplies. Some 50,000 hectares of crops have been destroyed.

The local government has allocated 10 million yuan (1.6 million U.S. dollars) for victims and taken measures to increase artificial rainfall in the areas.