China allocates 600 million yuan for flood relief

BEIJING -- The central government has earmarked 600 million yuan (about $85.76 million) to support flood control and relief in five provincial-level regions, the Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM) said on Monday.

Designated for Jiangxi, Anhui, Hubei, Hunan and Chongqing, the funds were allocated by the Ministry of Finance and the MEM after a Level II emergency response, the second-highest in the response system, was activated for the flood-hit regions on Sunday.

China is stepping up disaster relief efforts as the country continues to see more floods and unusually heavy downpours this summer.

Floods that triggered alerts have been observed in 433 rivers nationwide since June. Of these rivers, 33 beat previous water level records, Ye Jianchun, vice minister of Water Resources, told a press conference on Monday.

China's State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters have sent another six special work teams to key regions, hit hard by floods, to guide disaster relief efforts.