BEIJING -- The Chinese government has allocated 560 million yuan ($83.67 million dollars) to disaster relief efforts in four flood-affected provinces, including Anhui, Hubei, Hunan and Guizhou.

The money, which was processed jointly by the civil affairs and finance ministries, will be used to help people through emergency relocation, transitional settlement, reconstruction of damaged houses and console those who lost loved ones in the disasters, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Rain in the Yangtze River basin has left 161 dead with 61 people unaccounted for since China entered the flood season in March, according to the Yangtze River flood control headquarters.

The casualties have mostly been caused by collapsing houses and floods.As of Monday, 2.9 million people living in the basin had been evacuated.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs and the China National Commission for Disaster Reduction have initiated a grade IV emergency response and have dispatched teams to guide and assist disaster relief in the region.