The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is providing more than 815,000 U.S. dollars in additional disaster relief assistance to China, according to a press release from the U.S. Embassy in China Wednesday.

The equipment will arrive in Chengdu, capital of the quake-hit Sichuan province on Thursday morning and will include saws, hand tools, hydraulic gear, concrete cutters, generators, and personal safety equipment, said the press release.

As part of this effort, a nine-person USAID team of specialists is traveling to China to train local rescue workers on the use of this equipment. Two of the team are experts in urban search and rescue from Fire and Rescue Departments of California and Virginia.

This equipment and training will bring total USAID assistance to China to nearly 1.5 million dollars, it said.

USAID will continue to monitor the situation and coordinate with the goverment of China in order to provide needed assistance to those affected by the earthquake, it said.

(Xinhua News Agency May 21, 2008)