China sent 10.9 million yuan (US$1.3 million) worth of relief materials to the tsunami-hit countries of East Africa countries on Thursday. The materials, shipped from north China's Hebei Province, are expected to arrive at Nairobi, Kenya, on Friday.

The shipment includes 250 tents, 4,000 blankets, 350 power generators, medicine and daily necessities, said Yang Shuzeng, an official with the Ministry of Commerce.

The effects of the massive Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami on December 26 last year reached as far as South Africa.

Various relief agencies working in Somalia estimate that the tsunami killed about 150 people, while 54,000 were in need of emergency assistance. Northeastern Somalia was the worst affected.

A report prepared by the Somali government and other agencies puts the number of dead or missing at 298, with as many as 283 injured in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland alone.

The report also indicates that about 3,344 families living in areas recently assessed for tsunami damage in Puntland had suffered a "triple disaster" of displacement owing to drought; decimated livestock herds; and the tsunami.

Immediately after the disaster, the Chinese government provided US$250,000 to the affected in east African countries and later decided also to send relief goods.

(China.org.cn, Xinhua News Agency January 21, 2005)