2010-08-26 22:28

BEIJING - China has earmarked 7.27 billion yuan ($1.07 billion) for flood control and drought relief this year, confronting unusual natural disasters afflicting the nation, said a senior official Thursday.

China has appropriated 500 million yuan for Zhouqu, a mountainous Northwest China town devastated by a landslide earlier this month, China's Finance Minister, Xie Xuren, said during his report on the implementation of the fiscal budget plan for the first seven months this year.

The report was presented to the 16th Session of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress, a bimonthly session running from August 23 to August 28.

China has suffered from repeated natural calamities due to extreme weather this year, with flooding and other rain-triggered disasters leaving more than 2,300 people dead and 1,200 missing nationwide as of mid-August.

Xie did not elaborate on the allocation of the earmarked funds in the report.

Speaking on Wednesday, Ministry of Finance spokesman Hu Jinglin said that the Chinese central government has spent 2.43 billion yuan on flood control and drought relief as of August 23 this year, and the country's flood-fighting efforts would continue.