CDB provides $64m to aid Beijing downpour victims

BEIJING - China Development Bank (CDB) said Friday that it had allocated 400 million yuan ($63.5 million) of emergency loans for disaster relief in Beijing, which experienced its heaviest rainstorm in 61 years last Saturday.

The bank said it has offered financial help to the suburban districts of Fangshan and Pinggu, the worst rain-stricken areas in the Chinese capital over the weekend.

Fangshan district will receive 300 million yuan, while Pinggu will get 100 million yuan in emergency loans, according to the CDB.

The fund will be spent on disaster-relief work in the two regions, especially for settling victims of the downpour, allocation of the relief supplies and maintaining damaged public facilities and infrastructure, said the bank.

At least 77 people were killed in the downpour, latest available official statistics show. Average precipitation hit 170 mm, while a township in the suburban district of Fangshan recorded 460 mm of rain.