People from all walks of life in Hong Kong have united to support the resettlement and recovery efforts following last Wednesday's deadly apartment fire, with taxi drivers, social workers and volunteers all playing their part in assisting those in need.
The devastating blaze that engulfed the Wang Fuk Court residential complex in Tai Po has claimed 159 lives, while 31 others remain unaccounted for, Hong Kong police said at a press briefing on Wednesday.
One week on from the tragic fire, residents started to trickle back to their homes to retrieve personal items and valuables from the site on Wednesday and Thursday.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government has arranged free shuttle buses to facilitate residents' travel to and from various temporary shelters which have been set up, while staff members are on site to provide assistance.
Many taxi drivers have also volunteered to provide free rides as an act of good-will to those who have suffered losses and to stand in solidarity with the victims. "We provide a 24-hour service via phone appointments, serving over 300 people a day with about 100 car trips. We are all in this together. We can also see the great support from the central authorities for Hong Kong. So as fellow residents of Hong Kong, we believe that in times of need, we should all stand up, unite, and work together to overcome the difficulties," said Wong Tai-hoi, secretary general of the Taxi Drivers and Operators Association in Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, social workers from the Social Welfare Department of the HKSAR government have so far reached out to over 1,700 affected households, coordinating emergency supplies and offering emotional support and practical daily assistance to affected individuals.
"The 'one social worker for one household' service has been fully launched. So far, we have received registrations from more than 1,700 households for this program. One social worker is assigned to each affected household, supported by a small team of two to three civil servants, to assist the disaster-affected residents. These services will be provided until they are no longer needed," said To Wing-hang, head of the Social Welfare Department.
As of Thursday morning, over 1,240 residents have been housed in hostels or hotels, while 2,235 have been moved into transitional or Housing Society units.
The "Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po" set up by the HKSAR government has so far received 2.5 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 321.2 million U.S. dollars) in external donations. Together with the 300 million Hong Kong dollars in seed funding contributed by the HKSAR government, the fund now totals approximately 2.8 billion Hong Kong dollars, which will be used to assist residents in rebuilding their homes.
HK people unite to support resettlement, recovery efforts after deadly fire
