China allocates 1 bln yuan to support flood storage areas

BEIJING, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- China has earmarked 1 billion yuan (about 139.69 million U.S. dollars) to offset losses in areas in the Haihe River Basin inundated recently for flood storage purposes, according to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Water Resources on Wednesday.

The Haihe River Basin suffered floods caused by rainstorms brought by Typhoon Doksuri in recent days, and eight national flood storage areas, located in Tianjin, Hebei and Henan, respectively, were put into use.

The ministries said about 1.85 billion cubic meters of water were stored, alleviating the pressure of flood control in downstream areas.

The fund will go toward compensating property losses of residents living in these areas, including damage to crops, animal and poultry farms, commercial forests, houses and agricultural machinery, to help them resume production and life as soon as possible, the ministries said.