China's Red Cross Society said Tuesday it has allocated additional 2.63 million yuan (385,240 U.S.dollars) to buy necessities and other drought-relief items for the country's drought-stricken southwest region.

The donation will be forwarded to southwestern Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan provinces, as well as Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

China's southwest area has been parched by a severe drought, the worst in decades.

The funds will be used to buy grain, drinking water and pumping equipment for local citizens, according to the society. Among the provinces, Yunnan and Guizhou will receive 1.2 million yuan and 1 million yuan, respectively.

The society has donated drought-relief goods and funds to the country's drought-hit southwestern provinces worth some 5.23 million yuan as of Tuesday, the society said.

The Red Cross Foundation, a public fund supervised by Red Cross Society of China, also announced Tuesday that it had channeled emergency funds of 800,000 yuan to Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi.

The funds will be used to assist schools, hospitals and poor rural households buy mineral water and rice.

Each of the households will receive a package containing three boxes of mineral water and 50 kilograms of rice. The packages will be delivered shortly.