BEIJING - The Chinese government on Sunday earmarked 1 billion yuan ($160 million) for disaster relief efforts after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Southwest China's Sichuan province on Saturday.

The fund will be used for rescue and relief work, the relocation of people affected by the quake, medical treatment, subsidies for the victims' families, as well as for repairing damaged public facilities.

The quake hit Lushan county of Ya'an, at 8:02 am on Saturday. The death toll has so far climbed to 186.