Casinos to close upon hoisting of Signal No.8
Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai yesterday underlined the local government’s confidence in ensuring the safety of people in Macau and minimising the potentially catastrophic impact of Super Typhoon Ragasa expected to pummel the city, thanks to its early and comprehensive preparations for worst-case scenarios, while urging residents to refrain from letting their guard down in preparing for the menacing arrival of the super typhoon.
The local observatory forecasts Ragasa to be “very close” to Macau tomorrow morning and says that it will hoist Signal No.8 between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. today.
According to observers, typhoon warning signals No.9 (T9) or even No.10 (T10) – the two highest of Macau’s five-level storm warning system – are expected to be hoisted if Ragasa comes particularly close to Macau.
The local government also announced yesterday that considering the probably major impact of Ragasa on Macau, all casinos will suspend operations once Signal No.8 is hoisted.
The government also announced in a statement yesterday that all school classes will be suspended today and tomorrow.
Sam yesterday convened and chaired a meeting with his five policy secretaries and several other senior officials, held at the Civil Protection Operations Centre in Taipa’s Pac On district, about the government’s ongoing preparations for Ragasa’s expected onslaught. Sam and his five policy secretaries spoke to reporters after the meeting.
Sam expressed the government’s confidence in tackling the potentially devastating impact of Ragasa at the start of yesterday’s meeting, while the temporary closure of all of the city’s casinos was announced by Secretary for Economy and Finance Anton Tai Kin Ip while he was speaking to the media after the meeting.
Up to 2-metre floods expected
During yesterday’s meeting, which was open to the media at the start, Sam noted that the local observatory forecast that Super Typhoon Ragasa was very likely to pass within 100 kilometres south of Macau tomorrow morning, when it was expected to pass within a very short distance of Macau or even directly pummel the city, adding that its ferocity was expected to affect Macau for a relatively long time.
Consequently, Sam said, Ragasa was expected to result in a “very severe” storm surge in Macau, adding that the storm-surge flooding caused by the super typhoon could be expected to be comparable to that experienced during catastrophic typhoons Hato (August 2017) and Mangkhut (September 2018).
Sam said that the storm surge caused by Ragasa was estimated to reach up to five metres, resulting in flooding of two metres above road level in Macau’s low-lying areas.
Preparations for worst-case scenarios
In light of the “very serious” challenge that Macau is now facing, Sam underlined his government’s commitment to preparing for the onslaught of Ragasa in advance and remaining highly vigilant against its threat, making the fullest possible preparations based on worst-case scenarios, with the primary goal of ensuring the safety of all people in the city.
The chief executive also underlined the government’s objective of minimising the impact of Ragasa on Macau’s civil society.
Sam said that coordination and collaboration between the public entities under the city’s civil protection system has been getting closer and smoother over the years, while the government conducts exercises every year to test its ability to implement its emergency plan of evacuating those in low-lying or flood-prone areas, enabling the plan to be continuously improved over the years.
Consequently, Sam said, Macau’s ability to prevent, tackle and mitigate disasters has been improving.
Moreover, Sam said, the city’s drainage system and its maintenance have been improving, while new rainwater pumping stations and drains have come into use over the years, thereby enhancing the flood prevention capacity in the city’s low-lying areas.
Sam said that taking into account these factors as well as the government’s early and comprehensive preparations this time and its commitment to mobilise those from various segments of civil society to join its disaster-prevention efforts, his government was confident that it will be able to confront the threat posed by Ragasa.
‘Nobody can afford to be complacent’
Sam warned that Macau’s civil society should not let their guard down in disaster prevention for the approaching super typhoon, adding that nobody can afford to be complacent about the menace posed by the storm.
The chief executive said that in addition to officials and public servants under the city’s civil protection system, the government is also mobilising officials and public servants from various other public entities to join its disaster-prevention efforts and restore the city to normal in the aftermath of Ragasa as quickly as possible.
Sam noted that the government is also asking community associations to mobilise residents from various segments of civil society to carry out disaster-prevention public awareness campaigns and participate in the government’s efforts to restore normality to the city in the aftermath.
Utmost efforts to restore city to normal in Ragasa’s aftermath
During yesterday’s press briefing after the meeting, Sam noted that the local government has activated its emergency response mechanism, whose preparations are vigorously underway, comprising three main segments, namely precautionary measures implemented before Ragasa approaches Macau, disaster prevention and mitigation efforts during its expected onslaught, and measures to restore the city to normal in the aftermath.
Sam noted that he has ordered his five policy secretaries to ensure close coordination and collaboration between the public entities under their respective portfolios, while underlining his government’s utmost efforts to ensure the safety of residents and all others in Macau, including tourists.
Sam urged residents, businesses and all others in Macau to prepare in advance for Ragasa and remain highly vigilant against its threat.
Casinos’ closure aims to ensure safety
Also speaking to reporters during the press briefing, Tai said that as Ragasa was expected to cause a significantly adverse impact on Macau, the government has decided that all casinos in the city must suspend operations once Signal No.8 is hoisted, with the aim of ensuring the safety of casino workers and visitors.
When Super Typhoon Mangkhut pummelled Macau in September 2018, it was the first time ever that the local government ordered the city’s casinos to cease operations when Signal No.8 was hoisted, in anticipation of its potentially large impact. At that time, Signal No.10 was finally hoisted when Mangkhut came close to Macau.
Tai yesterday also urged employers to exercise discretion concerning arrangements for their employees to return to work after the typhoon, based on the outdoor conditions in the city, such as giving them adequate time to get to their workplaces.
Closures of checkpoints
Also speaking to reporters after Sam’s meeting, Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak noted that officers from various law enforcement agencies will evacuate those living in low-lying areas in compliance with the government’s evacuation plan in advance before the expected storm surge.
Moreover, Wong said, 27 public carparks in low-lying areas will be closed in advance before the storm surge, while the government will also urge the operators of 18 private carparks in low-lying areas to close them.
Wong also said that the Macau government will maintain close communication with its mainland and Hong Kong counterparts concerning the temporary closures of certain border checkpoints if necessary.
Also speaking to reporters, Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raymond Tam Vai Man underlined the government’s efforts to ensure the stable supply of tap water, electricity and natural gas as well as telecom networks.
Tam also said that if floods in low-lying areas exceed one metre above road level, the government will possibly suspend electricity supplies to households in the affected areas with the aim of protecting the respective power supply facilities, underling that this measure aims to ensure that electricity supplies to the affected households can resume quickly after the typhoon.
Also speaking to reporters, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Wallis O Lam said that after the typhoon, the government will decide whether school class resumption needs to be postponed in line with various factors such as the intensity of rainstorms at that time as well as the level of damage to roads and schools caused by Ragasa.
Also speaking to reporters, Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon said that in case of relatively serious damage caused by Ragasa, public entities would possibly need to only maintain limited operations for a period of time after the expected assault of the typhoon.
Meanwhile, Sam, accompanied by a number of officials, paid an inspection visit to shops in the Inner Harbour district yesterday afternoon, with the aim of gaining a better understanding of how the shops were preparing for the expected severe storm surge flooding, according to a statement by the Government Information Bureau (GCS).
Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai (centre) talks to the owner of a shop on Rua de Cinco de Outubro in the Inner Harbour district during yesterday afternoon’s inspection visit to the area aiming to gain a better understanding of measures to tackle storm surge flooding there. – Photo: GCS
Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai (centre) speaks to reporters at the Civil Protection Operations Centre in Taipa’s Pac On district yesterday, flanked by his five policy secretaries and Unitary Police Service (SPU) Commissioner-General Leong Man Cheong (right). – Photo: Tony Wong
This photo taken yesterday evening shows goods having been removed from some of the shelves in a pharmacy on Rua de Cinco de Outubro in anticipation of severe storm surge flooding caused by Ragasa. – Photo: Maria Cheang Ut Meng
