The latest announcement brings to 229.9 million yuan (US$27.7 million) the total allocated to disaster relief in flooded areas by the central government this year, according to the ministry.

Premier Wen Jiabao on Sunday called for careful monitoring of embankments as flood waters in the middle reaches of the Huaihe River recede. But no major new threats emerged yesterday along the flooded Huaihe River channel. Water levels at Hongze Lake, on the lower reaches of the river, are dropping.

In another development, an official with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCRCS) yesterday committed the organization to helping flood-affected areas in China,

Niels Juel, regional relief delegate of the IFRCRCS Regional Office for East Asia, pledged assistance when inspecting flood-hit Xuyi County in Jiangsu Province, East China.

The visiting group was made up of representatives from the IFRCRCS and the Red Cross Society of China. They inspected areas where residents were evacuated, highways cut and embankments damaged.

(China Daily July 15, 2003)