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A Government spokesman said today (December 30) that the 145-member team had departed for Phuket in Thailand including Immigration Department, Police, Civil Aid Service, Auxiliary Medical Service and Department of Health, to expedite the search of missing Hong Kong residents as well as providing assistance to stranded Hong Kong residents in areas affected by the tsunami.
In addition, one clinical psychologist had departed for Phuket this afternoon, making the total number of Government officers now in Thailand and Sri Lanka to 161.
As at 2 pm today, the Immigration Department's hotline (2829 3010) had received a total of 874 enquiries and 839 requests for assistance.
Of the 839 requests for assistance, 633 HK residents were reported to have lost contact with their families in HK. The callers in these cases were able to provide the personal particulars of the residents concerned as well as information about their last known location to the Immigration Department.
Of the above 633 residents, 356 have either reestablished contact with their families or returned safely to Hong Kong. There are 277 outstanding cases which Immigration Department will follow up. Amongst them, 199 were reported to be in Thailand, 12 in Malaysia, 13 in Sri Lanka, six in Maldives, 24 in Indonesia and 23 in other places.
In addition, callers also reported that another 1 079 Hong Kong residents might be stranded in the areas affected by the tsunamis but were unable to provide the personal particulars of the residents concerned or specific information about their last known locations. The Immigration Department is in the process of liaising with the callers in respect of each of these cases to seek the information required for following these cases up expeditiously. As at 2 pm today, 356 residents falling in this category have already been located.
As at 2 pm today, one more Hong Kong resident has been confirmed to have deceased in Phuket, thus making the number of fatality to two in total. His family has been informed.
The Government has contacted a number of international relief agencies, informing them they could apply to the Disaster Relief Fund for allocation. The agencies, including the Red Cross, World Vision, Medecins Sans Frontieres and Oxfam, have all indicated that they would apply for emergency funds.
This afternoon, the Disaster Relief Fund Advisory Committee under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary for Administration has approved a relief funding totaling $14 million to World Vision and Oxfam so as to facilitate the agencies to arrange timely relief supplies and assistance to those in need in Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka.
In addition, the Home Affairs Bureau and the Home Affairs Department with the 18 District Officers have been supplementing the efforts of the Security Bureau and the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau by offering help to those who are in Hong Kong waiting anxiously for news about their family members who have travelled to the tsunami-hit areas. So far till this afternoon, they have established contact with 65 families and together with the Social Welfare Department are providing assistance to them.
The 18 District Officers will contact those who have returned to Hong Kong. Residents in need of assistance can call the Home Affairs Department hotline 2835-1473. The department will follow up on their cases and provide referral services in accordance with their needs.
The spokesman said that a dedicated web page has been produced to facilitate members of the public to get more information about the tsunamis incident. The web page can be accessed through a hyperlink at the Government homepage (www.info.gov.hk) and will be updated regularly.
Also, the public can click into an Immigration Department web page (www.immd.gov.hk) for access to this dedicated web page.
The web page carries the hotlines of Chinese embassies and consulates in the tsunami-hit areas as well as those of the concerned HKSAR Government departments.
It also contains information on assistance rendered and press releases.
Ends/Thursday, December 30, 2004
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