China allocates 36 mln yuan to fix flood-damaged roads in south

BEIJING, June 24 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Transport said on Tuesday that it has earmarked 36 million yuan (5.1 million U.S. dollars) to repair roads that were damaged by recent flooding in the south.

The money will go to the provinces of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Hunanand Guizhou and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, which sustained the most damage, a ministry statement said.

Downpours have caused floods in more than 20 provincial regions, killing at least 176 people and damaging roads, bridges and other facilities.

According to the ministry, floods had damaged 969 bridges and disrupted traffic on six expressways, 29 national highways and 260provincial highways as of June 18. Losses reached 3.22 billion yuan.

No major congestion was reported, although there were regional traffic disruptions in Jiangxi, Hunan, Yunnan and Zhejiang, the ministry said.

Repair teams had been sent to fix the damage, it said.