Food, clothing and shelter supplies for the mudslide-affected people in Zhouqu County in northwest China's Gansu Province are to be properly handled, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said Tuesday.

The affected people will be helped by the government to reconstruct their homes, the ministry said in a statement.

China's Ministry of Finance has allocated 500 million yuan (US$73 million) for emergency aid to fund the relief efforts.

The statement said the resettlement program will be carried out in three stages.

The first stage of emergency aid is resettling the affected people in temporary shelters.

The second stage is the stopgap resettlement of people in houses of relatives, friends, neighbors as well as rented houses and houses offered by the government.

The third stage is reconstruction and the moving of people into their new homes.

Efforts should be made to finish reconstruction of toppled houses before winter sets in, or no later than June 2011, the statement said, noting the repair of damaged houses shall be finished by November this year.

The ministry will soon flesh out the resettlement program after learning further details of the disaster, an official at the Ministry of Civil Affairs said.

The death toll from the massive rain-triggered mudslide in Zhouqu County has risen to 702, with 1,042 others still missing.

Also on Tuesday, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said 7,000 tents, 21,400 cotton quilts, 5,000 folding beds and 5,000 sleeping bags had arrived in Zhouqu.

Along with the shelter supplies, instant noodles, drinking water, generators, candles and flashlights have also arrived in the county, with more supplies en route.

In addition, the State Administration of Radio Film and Television has transported 10,000 radios and 5,000 televisions and satellite dishes to the affected area to ensure local people know the latest information concerning the rescue and relief efforts.

As of 6 p.m. Monday, the Red Cross Society of China and its local branches had offered relief funds and materials worth more than 6 million yuan (about US$886,000).

The organization has called for more donations, asking the public to log on to redcross.org.cn to donate, apart from donating through banks and post offices.

The State Council, China's Cabinet, released a circular Tuesday calling for better coordination between local rescue and relief teams.

The circular encouraged financial donations from the public for the organized procurement of supplies.

It also urged people other than rescue and relief workers to not go to the disaster-hit county.

(Xinhua News Agency August 11, 2010)