On 3 August 2014, an enormous earthquake struck Ludian County in Yunnan Province, China. For the first time, a social work support group was coordinated and established and coordinated by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, which historically has put more emphasis on emergent and material relief after disasters. As both researchers and social workers, we initiated a participatory action research to explore how a more effective service model can be achieved in rural disaster-affected zones of China, which are characterised by rustic and authoritarian traditions. A community-centred integrated model for post-disaster community support was designed and implemented to simultaneously manage multilevel problems facing the local community. The community itself was put at the centre of disaster interventions in a highly inclusive manner.

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