China allocates another 1 bln for natural disaster relief

Staff members pick up vegetables for a pedestrian in Fuqing City, southeast China's Fujian Province, July 30, 2017. Typhoon Nesat, the ninth typhoon of the year, made landfall in Fujian Sunday morning. Nesat, packing maximum winds of up to 33 meters per second at its center, landed at coastal Fuqing City around 6 a.m. after travelling across Pingtan Island, according to local meteorological authorities. [Photo: Xinhua/Jiang Kehong]

The central government allocated another 1 billion yuan (about 150 million U.S.dollars) to aid regions affected by natural disasters, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on Tuesday.

The central government released over 1.3 billion yuan earlier for emergency assistance in both agricultural and natural disasters.

Since June 2017, floods and droughts have hit north and south China, with some regions severely stricken.

Last week, floods caused by heavy rain destroyed hundreds of houses and damaged thousands in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

According to the MOF, over 60 percent of the money will be used for flood control and drought relief, the rest for restoring agricultural production in disaster-hit areas.

From Aug. 1 to 4, Typhoon Haitang and a cold front are expected to bring downpours to north China.

The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters has launched an emergency response plan and urged local governments to make due preparations.