China allocated 27 million yuan (about 3.95 million U.S. dollars) from its central emergency relief fund to the southwestern Sichuan and Yunnan provinces ravaged by Saturday's 6.1-magnitude quake, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs on Tuesday.

The government also decided to forward 10,000 tents to the quake-hit area in Yunnan, the ministry said in a statement on its website.

The quake and aftershocks jolted Huili and Panzhihua, both in Sichuan, and the autonomous prefectures of Chuxiong, Dali, Lijiang and Zhaotong cities, all in Yunnan Province. Kunming, capital of Yunnan, was also hit.

The death toll rose to 40 as of Monday evening, according to local authorities. About 941,000 people were affected and 392,000 houses were damaged.

(Xinhua News Agency September 3, 2008)