RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- A nine-month drought has forced 106 Brazilian cities to declare a state of emergency, local press said Thursday.

    The local civil defense department in Minas Gerais state installed watering holes made with vinyl that absorb underground water to ensure supplies at least for residential consumption.

    Major losses have been registered in animal breeding. According to Minas Gerais' state-owned rural technical support and extension enterprise, 150,000 cattle have died since the drought began.

    Minas Gerais is Brazil's biggest milk-producing state and the pioneer in Brazil's large-scale cattle breeding.

    The north of the state, the hardest-hit area, is close to the so-called "caatinga," a semi-arid area in northeastern Brazil, where social problems like hunger are aggravated by the drought.