Funds earmarked for drought, flood victims

BEIJING -- The Chinese central government on Friday earmarked 520 million yuan ($84 million) in special subsidies for drought and flood victims in China's south and northwest provinces.

Some of the money will be distributed to assist people coping with food and water shortages in drought-hit Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan and Guizhou provinces, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The remaining funds will be used to aid those affected by recent torrential rains and flooding in northwest China's Shaanxi and Gansu provinces.

A drought that has parched China's southern regions since last month has left nearly 13 million people without easy access to drinking water, the ministry said Thursday.

Continuous hot, dry weather in Anhui, Hunan, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Hubei and Zhejiang provinces, as well as Chongqing municipality, has caused approximately 900,000 hectares of farmland to suffer crop failure.

The drought has resulted in a direct economic loss of nearly 40 billion yuan ($6.5 billion).