The China Red Cross Society sent on Friday the first batch of relief supplies worth 160,000 yuan (US$20,800) to rainstorm-hit Hunan Province in central China.

The supplies, including quilts and disinfectant, were shipped from the society's relief centers in Hunan and southern Guangzhou City and are expected to reach the victims by next Monday.

Rainstorms hit Hunan from Wednesday night through Thursday, leaving three people dead, one missing and 158,000 homeless, reported the Ministry of Civil Affairs on Friday.

The rainstorms resulted in the collapse of 3,807 houses, destroyed 57,000 hectares of crops and caused direct economic losses topping 580 million yuan (US$75 million). About 75,000 people now have no access to drinking water.

(Xinhua News Agency June 9, 2007)