国内英语新闻:Over 8.5 bln yuan donated to Yushu quake relief

BEIJING, June 29 (Xinhua) -- The quake zone of Yushu in northwest China has received donations valued at over 8.5 billion yuan (about 1.25 billion U.S. dollars) as of Monday, with about 90 percent being in cash and the remaining in relief materials, said the civil affairs ministry.

The ministry said in a statement that it received 2.407 billion yuan while the Qinghai provincial government of the quake zone received nearly 2 billion yuan in donations, with the Red Cross Society of China and the China Charity Federation each raising about 2 billion yuan.

About ten percent of the total donations had been allocated to quake relief work along with reconstruction and restoration, the statement said.

Yushu was hit by a 7.1-magnitude quake on April 14, with more than 2,200 people being killed and thousands of homes flattened.

Vice Premier Hui Liangyu said on June 20 that the government would soon implement a reconstruction plan for the area, which sets a goal to accomplish major reconstruction tasks within three years.