China's Hubei activates disaster relief emergency response

WUHAN, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Central China's Hubei Province activated a Grade IV emergency response for natural disaster relief starting from Tuesday noon, following serious rain-triggered flooding and waterlogging in vast areas of the province.

According to the provincial emergency management department, about 6.08 million people across Hubei have been affected by the recent rounds of heavy rain as of Tuesday morning.

About 67,900 people have been relocated and 28,100 need living assistance, the department said, adding that a large area of farmland has been damaged and thousands of houses toppled.

Direct economic losses are estimated to have reached 6.27 billion yuan (about 894 million U.S. dollars) so far, according to the department, which has sent 600 tents and 21,500 quilts to disaster-stricken areas.

The provincial finance department also allocated 50 million yuan in relief funds to aid local disaster relief efforts.