In recent days provinces in southern China have experienced continuous torrential rain, which has led to floods and other disasters in mountainous areas. The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters and the Ministry of Emergency Management have raised the flood emergency response to level III. It has been reported that from the 28th of June, floods in southern China have affected over 12,160,000 people, with 729,000 people displaced. The direct economic loss has been more than ¥25.7 billion (about $3.673 billion).
Since the 6th of July, the Red Cross Society of China has been actively responding to the flood disaster in southern China with a program named Angel’s Trip. On the 9th, the Red Cross evaluated the situation in Anhui Province and donated 3,000 aid kits to households in the province. Meanwhile, the Red Cross also sent rescue working groups to Guizhou province and organised 2,000 kit boxes for families affected by the flood. It is estimated that the Red Cross has distributed approximately 7,000 family aid kits to the provinces of Jiangxi, Chongqing, Guizhou and Anhui. The family aid kits contain a week’s life necessities for an entire household.
The Chinese Red Cross (which is separate from the international Red Cross, and closely linked to the state) has made great contributions to disaster relief activities in recent years. Family aid kits have been delivered in earthquakes, floods and cyclones across the country. According to the Red Cross’s data, more than 152,199 households have received family aid kits from them since the end of 2019, and more than 500,000 people have benefited from their aid.
In the recent coronavirus pandemic, the Red Cross designed a “Red Cross Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Station” which relieved medical staff conducting tests from having to wear heavy and thick protective equipment all day long. The stations allow the medical workers to remain behind a protective screen and use protruding sleeves to collect samples, while avoiding any direct contact with the people getting tested. The Red Cross EMS Stations also include air conditioners and windows, which guarantee that the medical workers can get fresh air during their long days of work. The EMS stations have been donated to Beijing Tian’tan Hospital and Peking University People’s Hospital and are already in use.
