Chinese authorities allocate additional 350 mln yuan to flood-hit regions

BEIJING, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities on Sunday earmarked an additional 350 million yuan (about 50 million U.S. dollars) to assist flood-hit regions of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, and also provinces in northeast China.

So far, the central government has allocated 520 million yuan in central natural disaster relief funds to the above-mentioned regions, according to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Emergency Management.

Local governments can use these funds for disaster relief, emergency response, relocating residents, seeking flood-related hazards, and restoring damaged homes, the authorities said.

Torrential rainstorms and floods have wreaked havoc in north and northeast China over the past week.

In the face of the emergency, China's state-owned enterprises (SOEs) actively participated in rescue operations. Centrally-administered SOEs have dispatched rescue workers, equipment, and vehicles to help reinforce river embankments, repair roads, relocate residents, and restore power and communication facilities.

Insurance companies also accelerated compensation payments in 16 flood-hit regions, paying out 264 million yuan so far. The total compensation claims from car damages to losses of crops have amounted to 6.24 billion yuan.