ENG-1955 — Page 162

118

HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT

these areas, one of which is at Tsun Wan in the New Territories, but it is unlikely that their population will ever exceed 100,000.

The clearance of fire lanes in squatter areas has been continued, and has had some effect in limiting the extent of squatter fires. Their frequency has not, however, appreciably diminished. There were 30 fires during the year, 10 of which were in November, when over 9,000 people were made homeless. Nearly 6,000 of these were victims of a fire at Fa Hui on November. After each fire the Social Welfare Office registers the homeless, who are then provided with free meals for a period not exceeding one month, while various voluntary organizations assist by gifts of clothing or money. As it is not normally possible to offer early resettlement to fire victims, temporary sites are allocated on which they can build themselves new huts. When possible, these sites are on barren hillsides not required for permanent development, but it is unfortunately often necessary to use portions of public streets as temporary hut sites. By the end of the year the number of fire victims so accommodated was over 19,000.

Every assistance is given to any voluntary organizations willing to carry out welfare work of any kind in Resettlement Areas. In the temporary cottage areas, sites are granted on permit to such organizations, and during the year three schools and two welfare centres were completed. In the multi-storey estates, where sites are not available, eight rooftops (with shelters at either end) and 28 rooms were allocated for welfare purposes, and there is no doubt that the work being done by these organizations is of great benefit to the settlers, their children, and indeed to the Colony as a whole.

A survey of the squatter areas not yet resettled established their population as over 300,000, at least 200,000 of whom are in places which should be cleared as soon as possible, either because of health and fire risks, or because the land is needed for permanent development. These figures are much higher than previous rough estimates indicated, and emphasize the need for many more multi-storey estates.

The population of the Resettlement Areas has increased by 42,000 in 12 months, the figures for the different types of area being as follows: