A drive by the Macao-Timor Friendship Association to raise money for the survivors of severe flooding in Timor-Leste has collected MOP63,460 (almost US$8,000) since it began last month , Lusa reports.

The Portuguese news agency says the money will be used by the Timorese authorities and a charity, Fundação São João de Deus.

The report quotes Francisco Reis de Araújo, representing the people of Laclubar in central Timor-Leste, one of places hit hardest by the flooding, as expressing thanks when the money was formally handed over on Monday.

Flooding caused by Cyclone Seroja in March destroyed 111 dwellings in Laclubar and damaged over 230, disrupting the lives of 345 households in six villages there, Lusa says.