5.5b yuan in subsidies sent to those who suffered losses in quakes, drought, floods

The central government allocated almost 5.5 billion yuan ($814 million) in disaster relief funds ahead of Spring Festival to help people in difficulties because of natural disasters, according to a media release from the Ministry of Emergency Management on Monday.

The past year saw many people's basic needs affected because of earthquakes, floods and drought. In a move to relieve their suffering, the ministries of finance and emergency management distributed the funds to 32 million people from 1,714 county-level areas in 24 provincial regions, it said.

The release said all the money was handed out before the festival, the most important occasion for family reunions, which fell this year on Jan 22.

In addition to the central government funds, 18 regions, including Hubei and Hebei provinces, arranged 330 million yuan in funds for disaster relief, it said. Sichuan and Yunnan provinces distributed living necessities worth 78.9 million yuan.

To ensure timely distribution of the funds, the Ministry of Emergency Management dispatched seven work groups to 14 provincial regions to supervise and inspect the distribution work, the ministry said.

The natural disasters in the past two years left many people's houses collapsed or severely damaged. One of the priorities for the work groups is to check whether these people have been adequately accommodated.

The work group for Shanxi and Hubei provinces found that all the disaster relief funds had been distributed in a timely manner, according to a report from China Central Television.

In 2021, 19 households in Xiangdi village in Shanxi's Yangcheng county, for instance, toppled amid floods. All the families moved into new houses last year thanks to the central disaster relief funds.

"I never expected that I could have a new house so soon," said villager Bai Manku, adding his four-member family got about 90,000 yuan in subsidies for building his new 95-square-meter house, which cost 130,000 yuan.

In Yangcheng county, a total of 733 families were offered subsidies for building new houses like Bai, the report said.

Another major concern for the work groups is farmers who suffered losses amid the long drought in the Yangtze River Basin in the summer, fall and winter last year.

In Bailuo village in Hubei's Hongan county, the drought resulted in crop failure in almost 67 hectares of rice. A total of 65,000 yuan in central disaster relief funds were distributed to the village for the losses, benefiting 272 people from 63 households.

Yan Dahan, Party chief of the village, said each villager who suffered grain shortage for more than five months got 410 yuan from the funds. A minimum subsidy of 150 yuan was offered to each of those troubled by grain shortage for more than one month.

The Ministry of Emergency Management has demanded consistent efforts from emergency management authorities across the country to help people who run into challenges because of natural disasters.

"Currently, weather events that feature low temperature, rain and snow still happen in many areas across the country, imposing difficulties for heating supplies and affecting many people's lives," it said.

"Local emergency management authorities should spare no efforts to guarantee the basic needs of people affected and ensure their homes are warm for the winter," it said.