Disaster relief materials were sent to hail-hit areas in southeast China's Fujian Province where the bad weather had killed two people and injured 51, local authorities said Sunday.

A total of 5.5 million yuan (US$805,000) has been earmarked to mitigate the aftermath, with 3 million yuan for Nanping city and 2.5 million for Sanming city, the two hardest-hit cities in Fujian, said Fujian Provincial Civil Affairs Department in a statement.

The first batch of relief material, including 5,000 quilts, 3,000 down coats and 500 tents, were sent to the affected area Saturday night.

"The hails were so big that my roof was punched through," said a farmer surnamed Li in Sanming city.

Two women, Liu Jiafang, 61 and Chen Jiying, 56, were killed when their houses collapsed in the hailstorm in Nanping city. A total of 51 people were injured as of Sunday, it said.

A total of 36,000 people were relocated and 30,000 houses and 50,000 hectares of farmland damaged as of Sunday, it said.

"It is natural for Fujian to have heavy rainfall and low temperature in the spring. The extreme weather is almost behind us, and cold snap will dominate the next couple of days," said Liu Ming, deputy chief of Fujian Provincial Meteorological Observatory.

(Xinhua News Agency March 8, 2010)