China allocated 27 million yuan (about US$3.95 million) from its central emergency relief fund to the southwest Sichuan and Yunnan provinces ravaged by Saturday's 6.1-magnitude quake, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs on Tuesday.

The government forwarded 10,000 12-square-meter tents to the quake-affected people in Yunnan on Monday, the ministry said. It also decided to send another 1,000 large tents, each covering an area of 36 square meters, to serve as temporary classrooms.

The quake and aftershocks jolted Huili and Panzhihua, both in Sichuan, and the autonomous prefectures of Chuxiong, Dali, Lijiangand Zhaotong cities, all in Yunnan Province. Kunming, capital of Yunnan, was also hit.

The death toll rose to 38 as of 6:00 PM on Tuesday, the ministry's figures showed. About 1.1 million people were affected and 392,000 houses were damaged.

Local earthquake bureaus in Sichuan and Yunnan had each dispatched 10 teams to the quake zone to conduct investigations and assess the damage.

(Xinhua News Agency September 3, 2008)