More relief funding as tropical storm nears

BEIJING - China's ministries of finance and civil affairs on Tuesday jointly allocated 518 million yuan ($81.4 million) to back typhoon relief work as southeastern regions are expected to be hit by tropical storm Kai-tak in the next few days.

The money will be mainly used for living aid for local residents, the reconstruction of damaged houses and compensating bereaved families. It will cover areas in Hebei, Liaoning, Jiangsu, Fujian, Shandong, Hubei and Hunan that have already been battered by typhoons.

The two ministries have poured 5.01 billion yuan into disaster relief funding so far this year.

Also on Tuesday, the National Commission for Disaster Reduction issued an early-warning plan at 2 pm to cope with potential losses to Kai-tak.

The commission released an urgent circular urging civil affairs departments in Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan to make precautionary arrangements for the evacuation of seriously hit areas -- especially tourist attractions, marine aquaculture spots and those vulnerable to landslides and floods.

These departments were also told to set up clear signs and arrange special inspection personnel around dangerous areas to warn off local people while ensuring order in shelters.  

Three consecutive typhoons that have hit Chinese coastal areas in the past two weeks had caused 51 deaths and left 21 people missing as of Monday, according to China's Ministry of Civil Affairs.