URUMQI -?China has earmarked 50 million yuan (7.3 million U.S. dollars) to be used over the next three years to conduct geological surveys in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the local authority said Tuesday.

The money will support geo-hazards prevention, monitoring and remediation in the region. Geological surveys will be launched in five counties in south Xinjiang, where early-warning and disaster control measures are weak. The three-year project will result in a comprehensive system to prevent, evaluate, monitor and reduce losses from geological disasters, according to Wei Wenhui, head of Xinjiang's geological environment monitoring institute.

This year, 21.5 million yuan will be spent on initiating geological surveys in Yecheng and Uqar counties, Wei added.

There were 65 geological disasters last year in Xinjiang.