The China Red Cross Society (CRCS) collected 18.31 million yuan (US$2 million) in cash, and 9.8 million yuan (US$1.15 million) of disaster-relief materials by Tuesday.

CRCS vice-president Wang Lizhong announced the figures Wednesday at a press conference on flood-relief work. After the announcement, the CRCS got additional donations worth over 4 million yuan (US$483,115) from several enterprises.

On June 19, CRCS officially appealed to the international community through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies for donations to help victims of natural disasters.

By July 5, donations from other countries totaled 8.5 million yuan (US$1 million), which was used to purchase 4,500 tons of food supplies for 100,000 people, 2,000 tents, and 20,000 quilts. The donation will also be used to provide one million people with medicines.

The CRCS has also received donations from the US embassy to China and the US Red Cross Society, as well as Red Cross organizations in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao Special Administrative Region and Taiwan Province.

Since June, 19 provinces and regions in China have suffered from various natural disasters. Statistics from the Ministry of Civil Affairs show that by June 26, a total of 110 million Chinese people were affected by flooding, in which 596 died. Direct economic losses totaled 26 billion yuan (US$3 billion).

(People's Daily July 11, 2002)