Canadians have flooded the Red Cross with donations for Chinese earthquake relief, giving nearly $15 million more to that disaster relief fund than to survivors of the Burmese cyclone.

The Canadian Red Cross has so far received $17.2 million in donations for its earthquake fund, with $100,000 pouring in on the weekend, in anticipation of the federal government's announcement that it would match donations given to earthquake relief that arrived by Monday.

By comparison, the Red Cross's Burma fund, which fell under the Canadian government's matching program as well, has so far received $2.76 million from Canadians.

Christina Lopes, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Red Cross, said the difference might be explained by Canada's large Chinese population, many living in Vancouver, a city that is itself earthquake-prone.

In addition, the media were quick to relay the tragic stories of the earthquake, which struck the central Sichuan province on May 12, killing nearly 70,000 people and leaving millions homeless,

"The pictures from the earthquake were so emotional, they likely provoked an incredible outpouring from people, from Canadians," Lopes said Tuesday.

Fears about relief reaching needy Burmese

In comparison to the Chinese disaster, many foreign journalists were barred from entering Burma after the May 3 cyclone struck, devastating the Irrawaddy Delta and the large city of Rangoon. More than 84,000 people died in the disaster and 54,000 are still missing.

Lopes said Canadian donors may have hesitated to give to Burma because of fears the ruling military junta in the impoverished country wasn't allowing aid across its borders, and wasn't delivering foreign supplies and money to the people who needed it most.

But Lopes noted that the Red Cross, which has a branch in Burma, has been able to reach survivors directly, and has been getting airplanes with humanitarian aid into the country every day.

Lopes also noted that there are far fewer people of Burmese descent living in Canada than of Chinese descent, which might have added to the difference in donation totals.

Atlantic Canadians donate while coping with own floods

Lopes said the Red Cross is grateful for Canadians' generosity. She noted that about $100,000 was given from people in Atlantic Canada, who were coping with their own floods in New Brunswick when the Burmese and Chinese disasters occurred.

"It's really quite extraordinary how much people there gave," she said.

With the money it received, the Canadian Red Cross has, among other things, managed to send 7,250 large tents to China to house families left homeless. The organization has also sent 2,000 shelter kits containing tools, tarps, ropes, shovels and other items to Burma, provided to them by the federally funded Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

The Red Cross hopes that Canadians will keep giving to the disaster funds, even though the Canadian government is no longer matching donations. Lopes said there is a great deal of rebuilding work to be done in both countries.

"Now the real work begins, so we hope Canadians will continue to be generous," Lopes said. "There is work to be done for years to come."

$12 million of China donations will be matched

CIDA offered to match all Chinese earthquake donations made by individuals by June 23, the six-week anniversary of the quake. The government promised to match all Burma donations until June 13, the six-week anniversary of that disaster.

Individual donations represented about $12 million of the $17.2 million in donations the Red Cross received for China, and those will all be matched, Lopes said. The rest of $17.2 million came from corporations, the federal government ($1 million) and from provincial governments ($2 million from B.C. and $1 million from Ontario).

About $1.6 million of the Red Cross Burma donations will be matched, Lopes added. The federal government gave about $500,000 to the Red Cross's Burma fund.

World Vision Canada, by contrast, did not see a difference between its Burma and China donations.

By the June 23 matching deadline for China, the charity said it had received $4.4 million from Canadians. By comparison, when the June 13 deadline arrived for Burma, World Vision Canada had received $4.3 million from Canadians.

Médecins Sans Frontières Canada, meanwhile, didn't earmark money for relief efforts in China, although it does have a Burmese fund that received $310,000 from Canadians. Fundraising director Rebecca Davies said there was a spike in general donations to the organization once both the China and Burma disasters hit.