A cargo flight carrying 153 giant tents donated by the US Defense Logistics Agency arrived in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, on Wednesday afternoon, the US embassy in Beijing said.

The tents, measuring 10.97 meters in length and 5.48 meters in width, can house about 18 to 20 people.

The all-weather tents could provide half-permanent houses to about 3,000 locals in quake-hit areas, said the embassy.

The relief materials, including the transport costs, are worth US$900,000.

The embassy said the tents would be handed over to the Sichuan civil affairs bureau and sent to the quake-stricken areas.

Before the arrival of the tents, three US Army flights ferried emergency relief materials, professional equipment and a team of training experts sponsored by the US Agency for International Development to Chengdu.

This batch of relief materials, including previous donations of US$500,000 to the Beijing International Federation of Red Cross, has raised the US government's relief assistance to a total of US$3.985 million.

(Xinhua News Agency May 29, 2008)