Another 78 million yuan (US$9.4 million) in relief funds will go
towards the flood-hit Anhui, Hubei and Jiangsu provinces, the
Ministry of Finance said yesterday in Beijing.
The latest announcement brings to 229.9 million yuan (US$27.7
million) the total allocated to disaster relief in flooded areas by
the central government this year, according to the ministry.
Premier Wen Jiabao on Sunday called for careful monitoring of
embankments as flood waters in the middle reaches of the Huaihe
River recede. But no major new threats emerged yesterday along the
flooded Huaihe River channel. Water levels at Hongze Lake, on the
lower reaches of the river, are dropping.
In
another development, an official with the International Federation
of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCRCS) yesterday
committed the organization to helping flood-affected areas in
China,
Niels Juel, regional relief delegate of the IFRCRCS Regional Office
for East Asia, pledged assistance when inspecting flood-hit Xuyi
County in Jiangsu Province, East China.
The visiting group was made up of representatives from the IFRCRCS
and the Red Cross Society of China. They inspected areas where
residents were evacuated, highways cut and embankments damaged.
(China Daily July 15, 2003)
