As Rainstorm Assails Central China, Domestic Companies Spring to Action

Henan, a central Chinese province home to over 100 million people, has over recent days suffered a once-in-60-year rainstorm. Floods have washed into streets and subway systems, reportedly killing 12 people in the provincial capital of Zhengzhou, while about 100,000 people have been evacuated from high-risk areas.

In response to the tragedy, many Chinese internet companies have announced emergency assistance for Henan.

The Tencent Charity Foundation issued a donation of RMB 100 million to unite front-line relief organizations and charities to ensure the safety of local people and purchase urgently-needed disaster relief resources.

Alibaba‘s Public Welfare Platform, together with the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation and the One Foundation, has launched an emergency fundraising campaign to support disaster relief efforts, also launching additional public welfare projects.

AutoNavi has released a map of the rainstorm and waterlogging across Henan. Local web users in the province can directly click on the map icon “Waterlogging Point”, where they can enter relevant chat rooms, post distress signals, and obtain help, such as the telephone number of rescue teams and the location of shelters.

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The Henan branch of Alibaba‘s MMC business group provided the first batch of 450,000 daily necessities such as vegetables, grain and oil free of charge for 7,000 communities and 21,000 groups in Zhengzhou.

AliHealth is contacting relevant medical institutions, registering needs and providing necessary medicine, medical devices and other assistance.

Douyin, the Chinese mainland version of TikTok, and domestic content platform Toutiao opened a Henan rainstorm mutual assistance channel. If you or your close ones encounter difficulties, you can search for “Henan Rainstorm Mutual Assistance” in Douyin and post a video to explain your current situation, or search for “Henan Rainstorm Help” in Toutiao, then click “I want help” to fill in relevant information.

Xiaomi‘s Public Welfare Foundation announced a donation of RMB 50 million to ensure the personal safety of local people, purchase emergency relief sources and help support post-disaster reconstruction efforts. The Beijing-based electronics giant is dispatching the resources of the whole group, collecting and shipping urgently-needed materials to the affected areas, and assisting flood fighting and disaster relief.

Oppo donated RMB 50 million to the Henan Charity Federation, while instructing offline stores to provide mobile communication links, cell phone charging, and necessary water and food to those in need while ensuring safety.

Meituan announced to donate RMB 100 million and supply 630,000 retail items in the Zhengzhou area for free and has coordinated more than 20,000 groups to join the relief teams. Various relief information is now available on Meituan‘s app.

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