BEIJING, June 27 -- Chinese authorities have announced the allocation of 496 million yuan (about 69.59 million U.S. dollars) from its natural-disaster relief fund to assist flood control efforts across a broad swath of the country.

The emergency funds were jointly allocated by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Ministry of Emergency Management, according to a statement released by the MOF on Thursday. Previously, the two departments had already advanced 346 million yuan to support measures aimed at fighting the floods.

The funds will be used to support flooding and disaster control work in Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou, Guangdong and Guangxi.

The ministry said the allocated funds will be channeled to support search and rescue operations, evacuate affected people, detect secondary disasters, and repair damaged houses.

Persistent rainfall has battered many of China's regions this summer, damaging roads and buildings, and leading to casualties.

China's State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters on Monday raised the emergency responses to flooding to Level III in the provinces of Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi and Hunan, following a decision by the national observatory to issue red alerts for rainstorms in these areas.

Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing on Wednesday called for strenuous emergency response and disaster relief efforts, with floods and drought affecting some parts of the country.

He called for efforts to strengthen organizational leadership and overall coordination as well as initiatives to deploy emergency personnel and materials in advance in order to be fully prepared for rescue and disaster relief work in the event of destructed roads, damaged networks and power cuts.

China has a four-tier flood-control emergency response system, with Level I being the most urgent response, and a four-tier, color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow, and blue.