China initiated a fourth-level emergency response plan Sunday afternoon to cope with the drought in east Jiangxi Province.

The fourth level is the lowest in the country's emergency response system.

According to a statement jointly issued by the National Commission for Disaster Reduction (NCDR) and the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MOCA), as part of the emergency response program the two departments had sent a working group to the province to inspect the situation and assist ongoing disaster relief efforts.

The local civil affairs authorities had reported that, as of Sunday noon, the serious drought had caused problems to 1.11 million residents who were now in need for the government's assistance.

The NCDR and the MOCA launched a fourth level emergency response plan for the drought in central China's provinces of Hubei and Hunan on Monday, and on Thursday the MOCA and the Ministry of Finance had jointly allocated 55 million yuan ($8.47 million) as a special disaster relief fund to resolve shortages of food and water for the residents in the two provinces.

Further, according to civil affairs authorities in east China's Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, the recent drought in the two provinces caused living problems to 1.75 million people, as of Sunday noon.

(Xinhua News Agency May 29, 2011)