Macao Red Cross has received some 16. 3 million patacas (US$2.06 million) in donation to the relief and reconstruction efforts in Taiwan which was hit by typhoon, the Macao Post Daily reported on Friday.

The daily quoted a spokeswoman from the charity as saying that the details of the relief and reconstruction projects supported by the Macao Red Cross were likely to be announced next month. Three of the charity officials visited Taiwan last month to learn about the relief and reconstruction situation there.

Macao Red Cross has previously announced that some 2.7 million patacas (US$341,772) of the accumulated donation have been allocated for emergent disaster relief. The government of Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) and the government-run Macao Foundation already donated a combined amount of 12 million patacas (US$1.52 million) for relief and rehabilitation work in Taiwan.

Since many schools in the disaster area were damaged when Typhoon Morakot pummeled Taiwan last month, Macao Red Cross already purchased two school buses with part of the donation, which were used to ferry students between their homes and their new schools, the spokeswoman said.

(Xinhua News Agency September 5, 2009)