The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) has raised 4.2 billion
yuan in relief funds in the past 20 years to help 160 million
people affected by natural disasters, a senior RCSC official said
on Tuesday.
RCSC has also established a nationwide disaster relief network
which consists of six regional and 13 provincial-level relief
centers in places frequently hit by national disasters, RCSC deputy
president Su Juxiang said.
"The relief network greatly enhances RCSC's effectiveness to
respond to nature disasters," Su said.
RCSC, China's largest organization in disaster relief, is
responsible for providing supplies, such as food, clothes,
medicines and tents to people affected by disasters.
In recent years, it also tried psychological measures to
alleviate people from disaster-related stress.
China is frequently plagued by various natural disasters,
including typhoons, floods, droughts, winds and hail, earthquakes,
low temperature, snow disasters, landslides, mud-rock flows, plant
diseases and insect pests.
Figures from Ministry of Civil Affairs showed that natural
disasters across China killed 3,186 people in 2006, the highest
death toll in eight years.
(Xinhua News Agency October 10, 2007)
