Rebuilding of homes in 10 provinces hit by heavy snow earlier this year is proceeding smoothly, the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) said on Friday.

The MCA and the Ministry of Finance have allocated 1.15 billion yuan (US$166 million) for house reconstruction.

Severe winter weather hit central and southern China during the first six weeks of 2008 and destroyed 485,000 houses. The worst damage was in the provinces of Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan and Qinghai and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

In Yunnan, which recorded snowfalls later than other areas, reconstruction work has started on about 18 percent of the houses, the ministry said. The figure was much higher in other nine province level regions: more than 60 percent of the homes were being rebuilt as of April 15, according to the ministry.

In at least two areas -- the central province of Hunan and the western province of Qinghai -- rebuilding has started on all affected homes, it said. And in Zhejiang, in the east, and Hubei, in the central part of the country, more than 30 percent of homes have been completely rebuilt.

(Xinhua News Agency April 21, 2008)