A volunteer distributes daily supplies after deadly fires at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in Hong Kong, on Friday.Chan Long Hei/The Associated Press
Hong Kongers have rallied around the victims of this week’s devastating Wang Fuk Court fire, with long lines outside blood banks, charities overwhelmed by donations and volunteers rushing from shelter to shelter as the death toll rose to at least 128 people with 200 still missing.
Within hours of the fire breaking out at the housing estate in Tai Po district, hundreds of volunteers arrived to help. As emergency services desperately battled to the seven-building blaze, the streets around Wang Fuk Court were thronged with people delivering food, water and other supplies to the temporary shelters. Restaurants, churches and gyms also opened their doors to anyone in need.
By Thursday, several charities were telling people to stop donating items, as they had too much to sort through. Blood banks, too, posted signs saying all donation times were booked out.
Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency said it had made eight arrests in connection with the fire, including two project managers at Will Power Architects overseeing work at Wang Fuk Court, and the owners of a scaffolding company.
Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades has killed 128 people and left about 200 missing after the blaze at Wang Fuk Court high-rise residential complex in Tai Po. At least 79 were injured as rescue efforts ended.
Reuters
As well as physical supplies, money has poured into a government-run support fund for residents and to many charities helping out on the ground, from housing and food NGOs to animal rescue operations.
“The compassion, generosity and unity demonstrated by individuals, community groups, and fellow animal welfare organizations reflect the best of our city,” Natalie Ngai, a spokeswoman for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said. “It’s a powerful reminder that in times of crisis, the bond between people and animals – and between neighbours – is incredibly strong.”
Online, thousands have joined groups on the messaging app Telegram co-ordinating delivery of supplies, pet sitting and school drop-offs for now homeless children. Websites have also been set up to track the groups helping out on the ground, along with an interactive database of Wang Fuk Court, recording apartment-by-apartment which households are missing, safe or among the deceased.
The keen desire to help, spontaneous organization and comfortable use of online tools is reminiscent of pro-democracy demonstrations that rocked Hong Kong in 2019 when participants self-organized into front line protesters, medical response and support teams, ferrying food, water and protective gear to those facing off with the police, while thousands more donated money and other goods to the cause.
A volunteers' camp is set up in the courtyard of a neighbouring complex to aid Wang Fuk Court residents.Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
A government crackdown that followed unrest wiped out many civil society and political organizations that would typically be involved in responding to a disaster such as Wang Fuk Court. Still, many individuals previously associated with such groups still threw themselves in, including multiple former district councillors removed from office as the authorities reformed elections to be “patriots only.”
So far, the response from the authorities has been relatively well received. Police moved quickly on Wednesday to arrest several people associated with a construction company handling renovations at Wang Fuk Court, accusing them of “gross negligence” leading to death.
Money and well-wishes have also flooded in from mainland China, where President Xi Jinping called for “all-out” efforts to respond to the disaster.
Speaking Thursday, Hong Kong leader John Lee announced an initial $54-million support fund for affected residents and ordered immediate safety inspections of other renovation projects. The government will also speed up an already underway transition away from using bamboo scaffolding, though initial police investigations suggest it was shoddy protective netting that helped spread the fire so quickly, rather than the scaffolding itself. (Metal scaffolding also brings its own, different safety concerns.)
Union representatives and safety experts have demanded new legislation mandating greater fireproofing of all materials used on major projects such as that at Wang Fuk Court. There have also been calls for an investigation into how complaints by residents about the safety of the project were apparently ignored by a government watchdog and the effectiveness of existing oversight methods.
“I believe we need to seriously review fire safety and site safety management across the entire industry, including government oversight,” said Chau Sze Kit, chairman of the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union.
Flower tributes are placed at a makeshift memorial for the victims.Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
Failing to adequately respond to Wednesday’s disaster could see public sentiment turn against the deeply unpopular government, which before the fire was focused on a desperate get-out-the-vote effort for semi-democratic legislative elections on Dec. 7, in order to stave off a similarly poor turnout seen during the last round of post-2019 polls.
What to do with the survivors of Wang Fuk Court could also pose a future problem. The public housing estate was home to some 4,000 people who will now require new apartments, at a time when the waiting list for subsidized housing is already years-long and a major source of tension.
Victoria Tam, a resident of one of the burned buildings, was grateful for the support so far but expressed concern for the future.
“We went back to the estate perimeter and could see that our flat looks fine from the outside, we had no idea about the inside though,” she told the South China Morning Post. “We can live in some of the hotels but it’s only temporary, we’re thinking more about the longer term, we want a more stable place.”
With reports from Reuters