A prolonged drought in northwest China's Gansu Province has disrupted drinking water supplies to more than 2 million people, provincial authorities said Saturday.

In addition, the drought also has disrupted water supplies to more than 1 million head of livestock and about 1.3 million hectares of farmland, according to a statement from Gansu's civil affairs department.

Rainfall in most parts of Gansu had dropped 50 to 80 percent from previous years since the drought began in March, the statement said.

While torrential rains have broken severe droughts in the country's southern, central and eastern regions, the vast northwest remains parched.

A total of 3.65 million people and 3.47 million head of livestock are short of drinking water in northwest China, according to a statement from the National Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters on Friday.

Drought-hit areas include the autonomous regions of Inner Mongolia and Ningxia and the provinces of Gansu and Shanxi, it said.

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