The government announced on Friday it will step up financial aid for families hit by the devastating Tai Po fire, as the death toll from the blaze rises to at least 128.

It said it will give the family of each person killed in the fire HK$200,000 in condolence money, and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department will assign dedicated staff to help these families with funeral arrangements and other matters.

On top of the HK$10,000 in emergency cash for every Wang Fuk Court household, a living allowance of HK$50,000 will also be provided.

Home Affairs Secretary Alice Mak said a HK$300 million fund set up by the government to support the residents has been boosted by HK$500 million in donations.

She added that officials are coordinating with the IT sector to build an online platform where citizens and groups can register donations of goods, which will be distributed to affected residents.

"We will later help these households with longer-term housing arrangements, they may need more supplies, or we may need to match specific items. So could everyone please hold on to the items you plan to donate for now? When these households move into more long-term accommodation, we will then match and arrange the distribution of these supplies," she said.

Welfare Secretary Chris Sun, for his part, said the government will assign a dedicated social worker to each family to arrange transitional housing and refer them to other welfare services.

"We expect that in the months and years ahead, each household will have different social welfare needs. After some time, they will need to process their grief and will require substantial emotional support. Through their dedicated, matched social worker, they can be referred to and access professional services that will help them," he said.