Grants of $500,000 and $1.5 million from the Disaster Relief Fund have been approved for Hong Kong Red Cross and The Salvation Army to provide emergency aid to typhoon victims in the Philippines.

The fund's advisory committee hopes the grants help provide relief. 

To ensure that the money will be used for the designated purposes, the committee will ask the two organisations to submit evaluation reports and audited accounts on the use of the grants after the relief projects have been completed.

The fund was established in December, 1993, for emergency disaster relief in places outside Hong Kong.

The advisory committee is responsible for advising the Government on the policy and practices regarding the disbursement of funds for disaster relief, advising on specific amounts to specific recipients, and monitoring the use of grants.