China's quake-hit Sichuan sees a flood of volunteers

DUJIANGYAN-The hairdryers, brushes and shampoo Lang Guanghong unloads from the back of his van each morning aren't standard disaster relief tools.The 22-year old hair stylist wanted to help when his hometown was hit by China's deadliest earthquake in decades, which officials say may have killed 50,000 people.But relief teams were calling for help from experts only.So Lang thought of a way to put his skills to use. "The weather is hot and volunteers' hair is often quite long, so it is inconvenient," he said in Dujiangyan, a mid-sized city in Sichuan where collapsed buildings now line the main streets."We give them free haircuts to make their work easier, and also help people from town who want their hair cut."The disaster has prompted an unprecedented outpouring of public support from across China that has helped feed and clothe people in badly-hit but accessible areas.Taxi drivers queued for hours to ferry victims to hospital, a senior executive trekked into a stricken town with a satellite phone, and thousands of individuals stuffed food and water into their cars and drove towards disaster zones.Officials coordinating relief efforts say they are so overwhelmed with help they need only experts with special skills.

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