(Yicai Global) Oct. 11 -- Alibaba Group Holding, Tencent Holdings, and other Chinese tech firms have donated over CNY330 million (USD51 million) to assist northern China’s Shanxi province where more than 1.7 million people have been affected by flooding due to heavy rainfall.

Alibaba has given CNY30 million (USD4.6 million) and affiliate Ant Group CNY20 million, the Hangzhou-based e-commerce giant said on Weibo yesterday. Co-founders Jack Ma and Joseph Tsai also committed CNY10 million each through their respective charitable foundations. Shanxi’s branch of the Red Cross will allocate the funds for rescue and disaster relief, protecting livelihoods, and post-disaster reconstruction.

Tencent, Baidu, ByteDance, and Pinduoduo each have made a CNY50 million donation to support the disaster relief efforts, they announced yesterday. NetEase has contributed CNY20 million, while Vipshop Holdings, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo gave CNY10 million each, they said on the same day.

More than 1.7 million people in 76 cities and counties in Shanxi have been affected by severe rains and flooding. Xinhua reported yesterday that over 120,000 residents have been relocated, nearly 1,900 square kilometers of crops have been damaged, and in excess of 17,000 houses have collapsed.

In addition, 60 coal mines, 372 other mines, and 14 hazardous chemical producers have shut down, while construction work on over 1,000 projects has been suspended and 166 tourist spots have closed, the provincial government said on Oct. 8.

Shanxi is one of China’s major coal producers with a total of 682 coal mines in operation as of August, according to the Shanxi Energy Bureau. Coal mines that have suspended operations amid the flooding account for about 8.8 percent of the province’s total.

Editor: Futura Costaglione