Gov’t pledges MOP100m earthquake relief

A rescue dog guides a rescuer to search for missing people in Ludian County’s quake-hit Longtoushan Town

Chief Executive Chui Sai On wrote to the central government yesterday, pledging MOP100 million to the relief effort in response to the earthquake that took place in Yunnan province on August 3.
The Macau Red Cross has also allocated emergency family disaster relief kits to the affected region.
In his letter to Beijing, Chui Sai On said that Macau residents are very concerned about the disaster.
“When disaster strikes, help comes from all quarters. The MSAR government has decided to allocate MOP100 million in support of the relief effort of the earthquake in Ludian, Yunnan, hoping that this gesture of solidarity can contribute to the success of the search and rescue operations.”
The CE added that the MSAR government would continue to monitor the situation in Ludian and would provide necessary resources according to demand. He also said that active support would be provided to residents and civil organizations taking part in the disaster relief.
Meanwhile, president of the Macau Red Cross, Eddie Wong Yue Kai, said that the organization had immediately dispatched 500 emergency family disaster relief kits to Yunnan from Sichuan.
The road leading into the epicenter, Longtoushan, was previously under military restrictions due to bad weather. It was reopened yesterday morning.
Mr Wong revealed that one Macau Red Cross official and three Macau journalists had travelled to Longtoushan and have begun to assess the situation, while two other Red Cross members stayed in a nearby town to help disaster victims there.
Eddie Wong has called on the public to make donations in support of the disaster relief operations.
According to TDM, the Macau Red Cross had raised more than MOP5.4million for the disaster relief. More information regarding donation methods can be found on the Macau Red Cross website: http://www.redcross.org.mo. JPL