Public donations for China's snow-hit areas have reached 1.53 billion yuan (214 million U.S. dollars), the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Thursday.

The donations include cash and goods donated to the ministry, the Red Cross Society of China and the China Charity Federation, as well as provinces devastated by heavy snow and freezing rain since mid-January.

The donations have been used in disaster relief and the rebuilding efforts in these affected provinces, the ministry said.

The month-long bad weather has affected 21 provinces, killing more than 100 people and causing direct economic losses worth of 111.1 billion yuan (15.4 billion U.S. dollars).

(Xinhua News Agency February 22, 2008)