(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-05-19 16:48

WASHINGTON -- As of May 18, Chinese Americans in Washington area have donated nearly US$300,000 for the survivors of the devastating earthquake in their homeland, officials from the Chinese Embassy to the United States said Monday.

All major Chinese American organizations in the area have been actively involved and more donations are being made, the officials said.

The Chinese Embassy to the United States has activated a major emergency management system, actively supporting relief efforts in quake-stricken areas back home.

The embassy's website is keeping informing visitors about the latest development in the quake-stricken areas and issues related to donation.

It also opened a 24-hour telephone hotline for disaster-relief donations.

A 8.0-magnitude earthquake rocked China's southwestern Sichuan Province in the afternoon of May 12.

More than 32,000 people have been confirmed dead and the death toll is expected to climb up higher in the following days.