Meteorologically, 2018 has been an abnormal year for China. While there has been unusual humidity and heat in the north, 27 provinces in the south, southwest, and northwest have been suffering from devastating floods. By the end of July the floods had directly affected over 20 million people and caused economic losses of approximately 51.6 billion RMB, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
Equipped with funds, emergency protocols and disaster management professionals, many Chinese NGOs have responded to the floods, complementing government efforts.
The non-profit sector’s timely aid has been exemplified by their efforts in tackling the shortage of life supplies in Sichuan and Gansu, the two provinces that have been damaged most severely by the flood.
The One Foundation employed its well-established disaster management protocols to tackle the flood. In the past, the foundation’s seven disaster relief projects in Sichuan, Jiangxi, Guizhou, and Yunnan benefited over 20 thousand people. This time, in response to the flash flood and the flow of debris in Wen County, Gansu on July 11th, the One Foundation cooperated with the Civil Affairs Bureau of Longnan, the nearest city, in deploying 579 family packages and 261 sleeping bags.
The Gansu Yishan Yishui Center for Environmental and Social Development, a local NGO in Gansu, implemented the “One Foundation Joint Disaster Relief” program. The protocol of the program enabled the center to deploy 140 tents, 307 coloured cloth stripes and 1114 sleeping bags from warehouses in Lanzhou to Longnan in two days.
The Amity Foundation, a social service organization for Christian volunteers, has also responded to the disaster with an HK$536000 special disaster relief fund from the Hong Kong government. The foundation’s disaster management work primarily focuses on evaluating and resolving the needs of communities affected by the flood in Sichuan. The foundation has dispatched several teams of evaluation professionals to various counties. It also donated 9000 bottles of water, which have temporarily resolved the water shortage in Nanbazhen, Sichuan.
The Red Cross Society of China launched its “Trip of Angels, Flood Relief in Sichuan” project on July 12th and, since then, has allocated supplies worth over 600 thousand RMB in Sichuan. The supplies include 8000 jackets, 2000 blankets, 2000 comforters, 3000 family packages and 100 tents. The Red Cross Society of Macau also donated 500 family packages.
The China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation has been dedicated to putting material and human resources from the north to use for disaster relief in the south. The foundation has mobilized over 80 volunteers and 40 rescue personnel who have devoted 1968 hours of work and distributed supplies worth more than 9 million RMB.
Many corporations have contributed to disaster relief efforts by collaborating with the charity sector. China Merchants Logistics deployed two trucks to transport supplies from the One Foundation. Coca Cola donated 660 bottles of Ice Dew to be shipped along with the One Foundation’s donations to Sichuan. The China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation also cooperated with nine local corporations in its disaster relief project.
Other contributions from social organizations in combating the flood include 890 family packages from Caterpillar, 770 bags of rice from the Guangxi Xinxiang Public Welfare and Social Work Service Center, 452 boxes of clothes from the Panzhihua Aiding Teenagers & Children Volunteer Association and more. The positive responses from the charity sector also encouraged many spontaneously organized volunteer rescue groups to contribute to distributing supplies, assisting rescue professionals and transporting the wounded.
