The Red Cross Society of China will earmark 300 million yuan (US$71.9 million) worth of donations to build temporary shelters for quake survivors, the society said Thursday.

The decision reflects the country's overall quake relief deployment, it said.

The 8.0-magnitude quake in southwest Sichuan Province destroyed 5.36 million rooms of housing and damaged 21.43 million others, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Tents and other temporary shelters were in dire need, the ministry said.

As of 6:00 PM on Wednesday, the Red Cross in China had received 4.108 billion yuan worth of donations in cash and relief supplies, of which 1.34 billion yuan were sent to the quake areas, according to the society.

By Thursday noon, 403,340 tents had been sent to the quake areas, where an estimated 5 million people were left homeless by the disaster.

(Xinhua News Agency May 22, 2008)