CHINA / National

US$5m relief funds earmarked to flood-hit south
(AP)
Updated: 2006-06-11 13:59

China has allocated 40 million yuan (US$5 million) to relief efforts in the country's south, where days of heavy rains have triggered floods and landslides, killing dozens, the Xinhua News Agency said.

The central government is also sending relief materials to the provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Guangxi, where thousands of residents have been forced to leave their homes, the report said late Saturday.

The hardest hit has been Fujian province, east of Guangdong. Since the end of May, at least 45 people have been killed by floods, landslides and mud-rock flows there, according to local media.

Tens of thousands have been evacuated. While the June-to-August rainy season usually sets off floods and causes hundreds of deaths annually, the government says this year's weather has triggered the worst summer flooding in parts of China in 30 years.