Hong Kong rallies to provide for Wang Fuk Court fire survivors

Substantial, speedy support from the central and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's governments has expedited the on-site probe into the deadly Wang Fuk Court inferno and the rehousing of its victims, Hong Kong's housing authorities and impacted community members said on Saturday, with one displaced resident describing the collective post-disaster response as "warming and reassuring".

Affected residents told the media on Saturday their main wish now is for timely government action in providing long-term, lasting housing that will allow for a return to stability and work.

Speaking to the media on the same day, the Deputy Director of the Housing Bureau's Development and Construction Department Daniel Leung Hung-wai said central government supplies were instrumental in the completion of structural safety checks across all buildings at Wang Fuk Court — a process largely finished within 24 hours.

The large-scale operation, one that involved over 100 personnel conducting simultaneous checks, required immense resources, he said, and the central government's provision of essential items — from protective waterproof gear to lighting for pitch-black surroundings — enabled the teams to do their work effectively.

The move to supply the equipment needed was a clear demonstration of the central government's timely support for the city, he added.

"That readiness to give, to act, and to go the extra mile is in our collective ethos as Chinese people", Leung said, pointing out that he had witnessed the same ethos in action during the emergency response to the fire.

Leung and his team entered the scene at Wang Fuk Court at around 3pm on Nov 28, a number of hours after the fire had been largely extinguished, to conduct preliminary safety assessments.

"It was a heavy moment", he said, "despite protective suits, movement was tough."

Inside Wang Cheong House — the high-rise where the fire first broke out and raged for more than 40 hours — the team carried out a rapid visual survey and took photos. By the time they left, they were exhausted, Leung recalled, but were reassured that the structural information they had gathered would allow follow-on crews a safer, better informed means of entry for follow-up rescue and detailed inspection work.

On Saturday, Cherry Lee Yim-ming, a project development manager with transitional housing operator Lok Sin Tong Benevolent Society, Kowloon, said her organization had freed up more than 20 units on the night of the blaze to shelter those affected. She added that her organization has since found shelter for more than 80 households.

Lee said that what "impressed her most" in the aftermath of the tragedy was witnessing the "remarkable" speed and efficiency of societal mobilization in the face of the tragedy, with a colossal amount of aid supplies — ranging from bedding and food to small household appliances and cleaning products — being assembled in under a week.

She stated that rental payments for affected residents are currently waived, and that the lease agreement for the transitional units has been designed to accommodate varying departure timelines based on residents' situations.

As of Friday morning, 1,369 affected residents had been housed in youth hostels, camps or hotels through the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, while an additional 2,499 had moved into transitional housing units provided by the Housing Bureau and the Hong Kong Housing Society.

Government-led initiatives like the "one-household, one-social worker" mechanism have also proven key in aiding longer-term recovery efforts, Lee added.

In one instance, a care team volunteer from the city's Tsuen Wan district encountered a woman in her seventies who had trudged more than 10,000 steps on Nov 28 to reach the designated government office to file for post-fire aid. Once alerted, the team swiftly liaised with relevant departments to arrange for residents to complete their paperwork onsite at their temporary accommodation, the Nina Hotel Tsuen Wan West.

On Saturday, at the hotel, those displaced voiced appreciation for the support they had received despite their tangible losses, citing hotel staff's attention to specific needs, such as when a blender was provided to assist with meal preparation for elderly family members.

"I've got barely a few hundred (of Hong Kong dollars) on me after the fire," said one current resident of the Nina Hotel.

"I lost my cards, my things... it hurts. But with the help from the government and all those people around us — we can manage, for the time being."

Flora Ni, Shadow Li, Fu Yinglin contributed to the story.