Quake-hit provinces receive new donations

BEIJING - The China Association of Poverty Alleviation and Development announced on Wednesday it will offer a donation worth 3 million yuan ($474,000) to the quake-hit Yunnan and Guizhou provinces in southwest China.

Of the sum, 2 million yuan will be used to support the resumption of production in poverty-stricken villages in the county of Yiliang, and help local college graduates to start new undertakings. The rest will be used for disaster relief, according to a press release from the association.

Multiple earthquakes hit a mountainous area in Yunnan on Sept 7, leaving 81 people dead and 821 injured. Neighboring Guizhou province was also affected.

Local authorities said on Tuesday that record rain since late Monday had added new complications in the quake-hit zones. Rain-triggered floods had cut off local roads and forced thousands of quake refugees to flee temporary shelters.

The Chinese central government has so far allocated 750 million yuan for quake relief and reconstruction in Yunnan.