Hong Kong will step up preventive measures such as improving the flow of information on the Observatory’s mobile app and carrying out anti-flood work at vulnerable spots to help avoid the chaos brought about by extreme weather.
Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho said on Thursday her bureau would seek funding for seven large-scale projects to prevent flooding in Wong Tai Sin and the eastern parts of Hong Kong Island, which were badly affected last autumn.
She said improvement works, such as building 11 underground storage facilities, for rainwater were expected to be completed between 2024 and 2030.
“We have done a lot of preventive drainage works since September, and will try to get more done by the imminent rainy season,” she said.
Linn added that the number of teams allocated to dealing with flooding had been increased to 160 from 144, and the groups were now spread across 30 spots instead of 13 to allow quicker response times.
Linn was speaking at a cross-departmental press briefing led by the city’s No 2 official, Chan Kwok-ki, where authorities revealed the upgraded measures to better prevent and deal with the aftermath of extreme weather following two powerful rainstorms that struck the city in September last year and earlier this month.
Secretary for Environmental Ecology Tse Chin-wan said the Observatory would add features to its mobile app and step up the issuing of timely information.
“Rainy weather is harder to detect in a very advanced stage – the earlier the warning, the higher the risk of inaccuracy,” he said. “So what we will do is ensure updated information will be frequently released through the Observatory.”
He urged residents to download the forecaster’s app.
Undersecretary for Security Michael Cheuk Hau-yip also warned thrill-seeking residents against chasing after waves in the ocean or winds during the inclement weather, as such activities not only put their lives in danger, but also those of emergency service personnel.
He condemned people who ignored safety warnings, saying police would carry out enforcement where necessary. He said that during typhoon seasons, some police officers repeatedly had persuaded windsurfers in the eastern parts of Hong Kong to come back to the shore, but in vain.
“Please do not put our frontline officers in dangerous situations,” he said.