The Chinese government has allocated more than 126 million yuan (about US$18.4) for disaster relief in six worst rainstorm-hit provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities in south China, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said in Beijing on Sunday.

The six provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities include Guangxi, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou and Chongqing.

A total of 5,200 tents were also sent to Guangxi, Jiangxi and Hunan to provide shelter for the people displaced there, the ministry said.

While Beijing and neighboring provinces are fighting heatwaves, the southern half of the country has been drenched in rain or flood since late June.

The latest round of rainstorms and flood, also this year's worst according to the ministry, had battered 12 provinces, killing 75 people and leaving another 13 missing and 938,000 homeless as of 4 p.m. Sunday.

Close to 40 million people were affected by the rainstorms and the flood, it said, adding that a total of 101,000 houses were toppled in the flood, causing over 13 billion yuan (about US$1.9 billion ) in direct economic losses, it said.

(Xinhua News Agency July 6, 2009)