The government disaster relief fund for the earthquake-stricken areas has hit 14.6 (US$2.1 billion) as of 2:00 PM on Friday, up 654 million yuan from the previous day, according to the Information Office of State Council.

The fund included 10.826 billion yuan from the central budget and 3.8 billion yuan from local budget, the office said.

(Xinhua News Agency May 23, 2008)