Drought is an important element of the plot of Vidas Secas. From the alternatives given below, select the description of drought that best reflects what is going on in the excerpt above.

Drought is a gradual phenomenon and differs from typical emergency events. Most natural disasters, such as floods, occur relatively rapidly and afford little time for preparing for disaster response. Droughts occur slowly, over an extended time period, and it is often not obvious or easy to quantify when a drought begins and ends. Drought occurs when a normal amount of moisture is not available to satisfy an area’s usual water-consuming activities. 

(Adapted from: <http://www.town.harrison.ny.us/HHMP/ draftdocs/H%20pdh%20drought.pdf>. Accessed on: 17 Oct. 2010.) 

Though one winter of heavy precipitation could bring water supplies to normal levels, California’s complex water supply issues will remain. Increased water needs for environmental purposes, regulatory cutbacks on water supply and population growth have created much more serious water problems than the state faced in the early 1990s. In the future, the impacts of climate change will complicate the state’s water supply difficulties even further. 

(Available on: <http://www.water.ca.gov/drought/docs/CalDrought.pdf>. Accessed on: 17 Oct. 2010.)

Hydrological drought is brought about when the water reserves available in sources such as aquifers, lakes and reservoirs falls below the statistical average. Kazakhstan was recently awarded a large amount of money by the World Bank to restore water that had been diverted to other nations from the Aral Sea under Soviet rule. 

(Available on: <www.hugedisasters.com/>. Accessed on:17 Oct. 2010.).