From QQ:

Yunnan hit by severe drought: With fish already like this, what can people do?

In Luliang County of Qujiang City of Yunnan province, a fish buried in mud has its mouth wide open trying desperately to breath. Unfortunately, it is already dead, though it is frozen in swimming posture. Everywhere within the cracks of the dried-up lake bed are little fish that have met misfortune.

Leaving water-rich Nanchang, this journalist who is originally from Qujing City of Yunnan Province yesterday headed to the Dege Haizi Reservoir in Luliang County, the location of the drought. He stood transfixed by what he saw. This reservoir, once a 1.60-million cubic meter water body, is now utterly dried up, with palm-width cracks spreading all over its parched lake bed, some running as deep as 50cm.

A villager surnamed Zhang sighed, “Over the past 40 years, this lake has never dried up.” When the lake dried up, villagers came and took away the large fish. The smaller ones, took a desperately dove into the mud, eventually dying slowly as the lake’s water vanished. Seeing it is heartbreaking.

Luliang county, the No.1 plain and largest irrigation district in Yunnan, is always claimed as the granary/bread-basket of Yunnnan. Nanpan River, flowing through Luliang, is the upper reach of Zhujiang River. Up till yesterday, the area had had 126 consecutive days without precipitation/rainfall. 99% of the county’s sown area is affected by this severe drought, totaling 529,9000 mu [1 mu = 0.0667 hectares].

That day, the sky was covered with clouds, but according to the area’s weather forecast, rainfall over the next few days is not clear, and the severe drought may continue.

Comments from Sohu:

wanglf:

Natural disater on the surface, man-made calamity underneath.

很郁闷、很闹心:

Nature is warning humans: You ruined the ecosystem for private interests, now it’s time to pay the price. The drought is just the beginning.

梅子:

Frightening!

股股恶:

Establishing an arid/dry society.

异域风光:

Truly tragic/heartrending.

Note from Fauna: Here are some additional translated Chinese netizen comments…

From Mop:

大鮸鱼:

It is we ourselves who have ruined nature too much leading to her taking revenge, a result we caused ourselves, so only we can make up for it. Unfortunate innocent little fish.

geniusxi2008:

MLGB, why can’t they continuously send water that way!!!

用爱换糖吃:

Better pray.

Praying for the drought area.

生米做不成熟饭:

It’s revenge, why does it always first befall the poor people!

我必信春哥:

Believe in the GUO JIA [country], believe in the ZF.

thiswoman:

Brother’s eyes are moist…

FF穿甲弹:

The photographs were taken very creatively, though I hope there will be less and less of this kind of creativity. Sigh, no matter who makes the mistakes, it is always the ordinary common people who must pay for it.

三堇:

Rain, rain!!! Sigh…really very sad!

让疯吹吹我吧:

So many people above…, can be said to have good hearts, but how many of you can be said to conserve water? Who painstakingly uses the water left from washing rice to water plants or vegetables or similar. Maybe you will make excuses that you don’t grow vegetables or raise plants: Who painstakingly keeps the waste water from doing the laundry to flush the toilet? There aren’t many, right? Etc. Enough nonsense, I think for this kind of thing happening in the Yunnan area, the most basic reason is still driven by greed/self-interests, leading to homogenization of vegetation, and thus a vicious cycle.

hao23to998:

There are truly more and more disasters and calamities! Is it because we are getting close to 2012!?

墼彡魄:

Touched…this work must win a big photography prize.

More fish. chinaSMACK personals.