China to spend $25 million on flood relief

BEIJING, July 6 (UPI) -- Some $25 million will be sent to China's flood-ravaged southern areas to aid in relief efforts, the country's Ministry of Finance said Monday.

Finance officials said the money is coming from Beijing's central budget and will be deployed throughout 13 provinces or cities in southern China to fund disaster recovery work from heavy rainstorms, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The rains and resulting floods have killed 75 people while 13 more were reported missing and 938,000 people were rendered homeless, officials said. Weather forecasters predicted more rain across the southern regions through Wednesday, likely causing more hardship, Xinhua said.