The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) has raised 4.2 billion yuan (US$558.85) in relief funds in the past 20 years to help 160 million people affected by natural disasters, a senior RCSC official said on Tuesday.

RCSC has also established a nationwide disaster relief network which consists of six regional and 13 provincial-level relief centers in places frequently hit by national disasters, RCSC deputy president Su Juxiang said.

"The relief network greatly enhances RCSC's effectiveness to respond to nature disasters," Su said.

RCSC, China's largest organization in disaster relief, is responsible for providing supplies, such as food, clothes, medicines and tents to people affected by disasters.

In recent years, it also tried psychological measures to alleviate people from disaster-related stress.

China is frequently plagued by various natural disasters, including typhoons, floods, droughts, winds and hail, earthquakes, low temperature, snow disasters, landslides, mud-rock flows, plant diseases and insect pests.

Figures from Ministry of Civil Affairs showed that natural disasters across China killed 3,186 people in 2006, the highest death toll in eight years.

(Xinhua News Agency October 10, 2007)