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Sakhalin receives first payment for earthquake relief

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The federal budget has allocated 800 million rubles ($31.9 million) for the Sakhalin Region administration, following last month's earthquake, an administration spokesman said Friday.
VLADIVOSTOK, September 21 (RIA Novosti) - The federal budget has allocated 800 million rubles ($31.9 million) for the Sakhalin Region administration, following last month's earthquake, an administration spokesman said Friday.

The region in Russia's Far East, which was hit by a devastating earthquake August 2, is due to receive 2 billion rubles (around $80 million) in total.

The first payment is "a first advance of the total amount allocated by the Russian government for the Nevelsk earthquake relief," the spokesman said.

He said the money was "state-financed credit, which would be repaid through additional funds provided by federal authorities."

The funds will be used to build housing for Nevelsk residents and the most urgent emergency work.

"The agreements for the credit for the towns of Nevelsk and Aniva, where homes for earthquake victims will be built, are being worked out," he said.

The quake with a magnitude of 6.8 on the Richter scale struck southern Sakhalin Island in the Pacific Ocean. The worst-hit town was Nevelsk, located 60km from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The earthquake claimed four lives and 8,000 people lost their homes, with damage being caused to roads, bridges and power stations.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin sacked Sakhalin governor Ivan Malakhov and accused local officials of failing to provide proper relief to the earthquake victims.

Viktor Zubkov, the Russian prime minister, was dissatisfied by measures taken by officials, and dispatched Anton Drozdov, the director of the economic and financial department, to the region to oversee the allocation of funds.

In 1995, 2,000 people died when an earthquake hit the town of Neftegorsk, off Russia's Pacific coast.

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