192
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
The quantity of surplus foodstuffs from the United States which entered Hong Kong during 1958 for distribution locally by these and other organizations amounted to some 15,500 tons; nearly half of this consisted of wheatflour and the rest of corn- meal, broken rice, milk powder and beans.
The Hong Kong Family Welfare Society gave advice and assistance to over 3,000 families every month. Members of each family are interviewed or visited at home and the Society's trained caseworkers help them to find employment, accommodation, medical treatment, etc. and sometimes provide loans or cash grants. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul also provided relief grants, free schooling and medical fees for the needy.
Emergency Relief. 1958 was a comparatively quiet year in the field of emergency relief. 35 fires, 6 house collapses, 19 shipwrecks of fishing craft, 4 landslides and 1 explosion claimed a total of rather more than 6,000 victims including 26 dead (17 by ship- wreck), 34 injured and 12 missing. The most serious fire of the year broke out on 26th October at the Model Village, Kowloon, causing the destruction of 250 huts and rendering some 1,700 people homeless. The most serious house collapse, at 212 Johnston Road on 1st October, affected 33 families consisting of 190 people. Hot meals or dry rations were distributed by the Department to the victims immediately after each disaster. Food parcels, used clothing, blankets, cash grants and shelter were provided by voluntary organizations such as the Kaifong Welfare Associations, the District Associations (whose members claim a common ancestral home in China), the British Red Cross Society, the Salvation Army and the four organizations already mentioned above as playing a part in public assistance.