Residents left homeless by Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades have been told to vacate their emergency accommodation at youth hostels by the end of this month so the facilities can resume their normal operations.
The Home and Youth Affairs Bureau said on Sunday that affected residents could move to transitional housing or use the government’s HK$150,000 subsidy to rent flats elsewhere.
The bureau also said it could use discretion in cases where fire-affected residents were unable to find suitable accommodation by January 31.
In November, a fire broke out at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, spreading to seven of the estate’s eight housing blocks and raging for about 43 hours. The blaze killed 161 people and left nearly 5,000 people displaced.
In the aftermath, authorities arranged for displaced residents to stay in hotels, youth hostels and transitional housing.
But affected residents staying in youth hostels run by welfare groups recently expressed concerns about any deadline for relocation, with some saying they had only just begun to adapt to their new environment and were reluctant to move.
