[Updated with donations announced after the article was published]
Gaming operators SJM, Sands China, MGM China, Galaxy, Wynn Macau, Wynn Macau and Melco Resorts all have announced MOP60 million (US$7.4 million) in donations to assist with Zhengzhou flooding rescue and relief efforts.
The city of more than 10 million people in Henan province has experienced a series of rare and heavy rainstorms, leading Chinese Authorities to issue the highest warning level for Henan province.
A total of 25 people are believed to have died, with 12 people dying after torrential rains flooded the city’s subway system.
About 200,000 residents were evacuated in Zhengzhou, local government officials said, as soldiers led rescue efforts in the city of more than 10 million people which saw the equivalent of a year’s average rain dumped on it in just three days.
SJM Resorts announced a donation of MOP10 million to support flood relief efforts in the capital of Henan Province, with the company’s chairman, Daisy Ho, indicating in the announced that the group hopes ‘the floods will recede quickly and the residents can resume their normal daily lives as soon as possible.
Meanwhile gaming operator Melco also revealed that it is planning a MOP10 million to Zhengzhou in coordination Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government to support flood control, emergency relief and reconstruction work in the city.
‘We wish that all the affected communities and rescue teams are safe and well, and we hope the situation will improve and that families can soon be reunited. Melco is committed to contributing to the relief efforts and continues to stand with everyone in Henan,’ Melco CEO Lawrence Ho said in a statement.
Sands China also pledged a total of MOP10 million for flood relief support, with Sands China President, Wilfred Wong, considering part of the group’s ‘corporate social responsibility’ and hoping it can ‘provide some level of relief to those affected and help them rebuild their homes and their lives.
In another announcement, MGM China, Wynn Macau and Galaxy Entertainment Group also announced a MOP10 million donation each for relief efforts, with MGM Executive Director, Pansy Ho, describing it as a “modest act of support” and with Linda Chen, Vice Chairman and Executive Director of Wynn Macau, expressing ‘condolences to the victims and their families’.
‘We hope to contribute to the relief efforts through the donation, and sincerely wish the people in Henan Province can pull through and rebuild their homes soon,” the GEG Chairman, Lui Che-woo, stated in his announcement.
