(Yicai) July 8 -- China's treasury department has allocated CNY3.3 billion (USD412.7 million) for disaster relief in the past 20 days following severe droughts in the north and floods in the south.

On July 6, the finance and emergency management ministries announced the urgent advance release of CNY540 million (USD74.3 million) to support areas struck by floods in nine provincial-level regions, including Hunan, Anhui, and Jiangxi. The funds are mainly for search and rescue operations, relocation and resettlement of people, repairing damaged residential properties, and identifying potential secondary risks.

The Ministry of Finance has given central funds for disaster relief six times since June 18, according to data it released and compiled by Yicai. Three were with the Ministry of Emergency Management, releasing CNY1.4 billion for flood prevention and drought resistance, two with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, releasing CNY1 billion to assist in restoring agricultural production, and one with the Ministry of Water Resources, releasing CNY916 million for the repair of water conservancy projects.

Central Hunan province has experienced continuous heavy rains since the middle of last month, leading to the country's second-largest freshwater lake, Dongting Lake, suffering a breach on July 5. Emergency rescue efforts are underway and the dam's breach will likely be sealed by tomorrow.

The government of Hunan has added CNY173 million from the central and provincial levels to the previously allocated CNY187 million for disaster relief since the beginning of this month, according to data released by the Hunan Provincial Department of Finance. The funds are intended for disaster relief and post-disaster reconstruction efforts in 13 severely affected county-level administrative regions.

In addition to the Ministry of Finance, China's economic planning department the National Development and Reform Commission recently released funds multiple times to support disaster relief efforts. On July 6, it allocated CNY200 million in central budget investments to help repair damaged infrastructure in Hunan and Jiangxi.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Martin Kadiev