Screenshot from the US Geological Survey.

They ended up making the situation worse.

“Most of them[volunteers] were college students from nearby districts, but they came with barely any food or tents. Their passion could not translate into the necessities they would need to survive in a quake-stricken circumstance,” said Wang Hao, a leader responsible for corresponding voluntary activities in Longmen, Sichuan.

Volunteers who came un-prepared had to share resources with others, reported Sina.com. A tent designed for six people once had eighteen volunteers inside. They spent the night sleeping on wet lawns, huddling to keep each other warm.

“Their presence added fuel to the shortage of aid supply,” said Wang.

In other cases, those who came to offer help ended up calling for it. On April 21, two volunteers from Chengdu, Sichuan got into a car accident on their way to Ya’an. They were rushed to a hospital while suffering from severe injuries, reported Sina.com.  

On April 23, Xinhua News Agency reported that more than twenty volunteers from Shanxi, Xian have been stuck on a mountain on their way to the quake-hit area. The group is still missing, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Wang Ce, another volunteer from Guizhou, died after she got hit by a falling stone near Longmen.

The volunteer-buzz has also created heavy burden on transportation, causing congestion on roads leading to disaster-stricken areas in Sichuan.

On April 20, more than ten ambulances carrying victims got stuck in lines formed by private cars on a road to Lushan, the county where the quake first hit. Meanwhile, groups of professional rescuers from hospitals and fire departments who got jammed in the same traffic found themselves impossible to make their way into the county.

The Chinese government began turning away non-professional rescuers on April 21. Only those with government consent were encouraged to stay, reported cctv.com.

Around 8,900 have signed up to volunteer in Ya’an so far, according to statistics from the Committee of the Communist Party of Sichuan Province.

Reach staff reporter Yifan Zhu here.