Grassroots movement fuels Hong Kong fire disaster relief as thousands volunteer & donate supplies
A massive grassroots movement to provide relief has emerged after Hong Kong experienced its worst fire in over eight decades earlier this week on 26 Nov.
Locals from across the island are chipping in to ensure that disaster victims not only have food to eat, but shelter to stay in as their homes are in cinders.
According to the Hong Kong Free Press, a nearby public square was transformed into a makeshift open warehouse by Thursday (27 Nov) evening.
Disaster victims were free to take the essentials that have been donated by other locals.
Source: @ChinaDailyAsia on X
A community-driven effort
Large groups of volunteers have begun organising by themselves to ensure that resources go to those who need it.
Messages for assistance flooded social media, leading to two websites to be formed on Thursday morning to collate these pleas.
To make sure victims knew where to find things they need, an interactive map was made that showed the locations of shelters, resource stations, and more.
The outpouring of support was so great that all volunteer slots were filled within the day.
Additionally, several locations reportedly had to turn away donations.
Source: @ChinaDailyAsia on X
A website dedicated to providing an apartment-by-apartment update so that the families and friends of affected victims can see if their unit had been reached was also available.
Victims of Hong Kong fire displaced indefinitely
Victims displaced by the fire will be unable to return to their homes for an extended amount of time.
Thorough investigations will have to determine if it is safe for people to move back in.
Authorities will also need time to probe the causes of the fire.
Source: @hkfp on X
As of Friday (28 Nov) morning, the death toll has risen to 94 people.
Police also arrested an additional eight people in connection to the fire.
Some controversy over government efforts for relief
Despite the overwhelming amount of support from the community following Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades, there has been some criticism online of the government response.
A short clip on Threads allegedly shows a team of government care teams, all dressed in matching jackets, posing for a photo while massive teams of volunteers can be seem labouring away.
“Can the government stop wasting their funds on these people?” read the caption.
Since it was published on Thursday (27 Nov), the post has garnered nearly 2,000 comments and more than 30,000 likes.
Also read: What made the Hong Kong fire so deadly & how construction firms can prevent future disasters
What made the Hong Kong fire so deadly & how construction firms can prevent future disasters
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at hello@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from @hkfp on X and @ChinaDailyAsia on X.
