The central government has allocated 460 million yuan (75.16 million U.S. dollars) to ease drought and prevent floods, the Ministry of Finance announced Friday.

A total of 200 million yuan has been given to Hunan, Guizhou and Hubei provinces, where a record-setting heat wave has spread since July and caused water shortages, power supply issues and problems with growing crops. The temperature in some parts of the country has hit nearly 42 degrees Celcius.

The country's National Meteorological Center forecast on Thursday that high temperatures will continue in most southern provinces until Sunday.

Meanwhile, China's Sichuan, Jilin and Shaanxi provinces, which have suffered from heavy downpours, received a total of 260 million yuan for flood prevention and repairs to irrigation facilities.

The central government has earmarked a total of 3.24 billion yuan this year to ease drought and prevent floods, the ministry said. Endit

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