China's Red Cross blasted after sending quilts to sweltering typhoon disaster zone

Sending quilts to people affected by natural disasters is a routine practice even in summer, the scandal-plagued Red Cross Society of China said yesterday in response to widespread criticism over the charity's choice of assistance to victims of China's most severe typhoon in four decades.

Yang Xusheng, director of the organisation's aid department, told The Beijing News that it had sent thousands of cotton quilts to Guangdong, Hainan and Guangxi since Super Typhoon Rammasun made landfall on Friday. As of 5pm yesterday, 38 people were confirmed dead, and 31 were missing in Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi and now Yunnan, battered by heavy rainfall from the typhoon.

Members of the public questioned why the charity would send quilts to areas where daytime temperatures in the middle of summer can reach 35 degrees Celsius or higher.

Sixty per cent said they did not understand the need to "send warm bedding during extremely hot days", while others said the public now had a habit of questioning anything the Red Cross does following a slew of scandals.

Officials in the worst-hit areas of southern Guangdong said victims were in dire need of water, sleeping mats and towels. They did not think they would use the quilts now, Xinhua reported .