China earmarks 40m yuan for provinces' disaster response as typhoon hits

BEIJING -- China has earmarked 40 million yuan (about $5.57 million) from the central government funding to support emergency rescue and disaster relief efforts in Hainan and Guangdong provinces as well as Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on Sunday.

The funding support came as Typhoon Wutip brought heavy rains and caused floods in parts of the southern region, the ministry said in a statement.

The funds, allocated by the MOF and the Ministry of Emergency Management, will be used for the evacuation and resettlement of affected people, the removal of hazardous objects and risk mitigation, as well as inspections on the risks of secondary disasters, it said.

Multiple authorities convened on Saturday to put in place precautionary measures against Typhoon Wutip, as the first typhoon of the year made its first landfall on Friday evening in Dongfang city in Hainan. It then made a second landfall around noon on Saturday in Leizhou city, Guangdong, located just north of Hainan.