The disaster relief materials and cash will be handed over before the Spring Festival, which falls on January 24. Priority will be given to eight badly hit regions, including the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the provinces of Gansu, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Liaoning and Hainan and Chongqing Municipality, according to sources with the Red Cross Society of China.

The charity organization has called upon people from all walks of life to show their love and concern for disaster victims by donating whatever possible so that they can have a happy and comfortable Spring Festival, which is one of the most important traditional festivals in China.

Data from the organization revealed that 29 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions attacked by various natural disasters, such as floods, droughts and earthquakes this year, affected 170 million people.

Some 1,300 people died in the disasters, another 81,000 were injured, over 540,000 were made homeless and the direct economic losses reached 162.6 billion yuan (US$20 billion).

Drought was especially serious in Northwest and the Northeast of China, resulting in the sharp decrease in the amount of grain harvested. In some places, local residents and animals have been suffering from a shortage of drinking water.

The Red Cross Society of China has already collected and distributed 7.7 million yuan (US$930,000) of disaster relief materials such as grain, medicines and clothes for people in 21 provinces.

Its branches at various levels also organized disaster rescue and relief work immediately after the disasters occurred.

Friday in Beijing, the Red Cross Society of China opened a website - www.chineseredcross.org.cn - to disseminate disaster information and collect public donations.

The website also gives an introduction to how the society prepares for disaster relief and rescue, community services, blood donations and collaboration with international organizations and counterparts in China's Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

(China Daily 12/09/2000)