Winny Wang/ Shanghai Daily news

The Chinese government has allocated 232 million yuan (US$30 million) in aid to help flood-hit areas around the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River, Xinhua news agency reported today.

The provinces of Anhui, Jiangsu, Henan, Hubei, Sichuan and Shaanxi, as well as Chongqing have suffered from heavy rainstorms since late June, causing floods that have killed at least 131 people and direct losses of 9.9 billion yuan. Another 31 people are missing and 1.18 million have been evacuated from their homes, the report said.

The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters has sent 100 rubber boats and 900,000 weaved bags to aid rescue work in Anhui and Jiangsu, the report said.

Anhui opened two more flood-control areas in Yingshang County this afternoon. Floodwater was expected to empty into the two areas, covering a total of 1.15 million square meters, and possibly the homes of 43,000 people. The county government has allocated 2.2 million yuan to evacuate residents, the report said.

Yesterday, the country's waterway authority ordered the opening of 13 sluice gates at Wangjiaba Reservoir, along the swollen Huaihe River in Anhui. It will divert floodwater to the adjacent Mengwa buffer zone, home to 150,000 people. Opening the sluice gates cost 600 million yuan, the report said.

The move should bring relief to more than two million flood-hit residents in Henan, on the upper reaches of the Huaihe, and alleviate pressure downstream.