BEIJING, April 21 (Xinhua) -- The Organization Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee has earmarked 3 million yuan (480,800 U.S. dollars) to the quake-stricken area.

The money will be used for rescue work in the quake zone and relief for CPC members affected by the quake, the department said in a statement on Sunday.

The department also called on all CPC Party organizations and members in the quake zone to take a lead in the rescue work.

"Party members should be in places with the most grave situations," the statement said.

The statement also stressed that saving lives should be the utmost priority and every possible effort should be made to minimize the number of casualties.

Moreover, it called on Party members to make all-out efforts in rescuing survivors and treating the injured as well as carefully handling resident relocations.

The CPC has more than 82 million members.

So far, a total of 186 people have been confirmed dead in the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that hit southwest China's Sichuan Province on Saturday.