The Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Ministry of Civil Affairs Friday allocated 45 million yuan (US$6.83 million) to help fight icy weather in southern China.

Areas to receive the relief funds include Guizhou Province, Hunan Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, said a statement on the MOF website.

The fund will be used to help rescue stranded passengers on roads or railways, support residents hit by icy weather and subsidize those who lost their homes due to the weather.

Latest figures from the Ministry of Civil Affairs showed icy weather and sleet had left one person dead and forced the evacuation of 104,900 people from their homes in southwest China's Guizhou Province between Jan. 1 and 12.

(Xinhua News Agency January 15, 2011)