The Macau Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) predicts that four to six tropical cyclones will occur within 800 ki- lometres of Macau this year and might reach strong typhoon level, power utility CEM engineer Gabri- el Chan U Fai said yesterday, add- ing that the company has improved various power facilities and power supply arrangements with the aim of getting well-prepared for the ap- proaching typhoon season.
According to an SMG state- ment, Macau’s typhoon season usually runs from June to October.
The company held a press con- ference, entitled “Be well prepared for the typhoon season”, at the CEM Building in Estrada de D. Maria II yesterday morning about its improvement work for typhoon situations and the government’s second version of its mobile app “GeoGuide for Emergency”.
According to a CEM state- ment, under the impact of global warming, extreme weather has become more frequent and Macau recorded two No.10 typhoon warn- ing signals in the past two years. Therefore, CEM plans to imple- ment special power suspension and restoration measures and use new mechanisms and channels for re- leasing typhoon-related message to face the approaching typhoon sea- son, the statement said.
Meanwhile, Chan said during the press conference that CEM and various government entities have been cooperating on improving power facilities in low-lying ar- eas based on the previous experi- ence gained from super-typhoons “Hato” and “Mangkhut”.
According to Wikipedia, Ty- phoon “Hato” was a strong tropical cyclone that struck southern China in August 2017, while “Mangkhut” was the third-strongest tropical cy- clone worldwide last year.
Mangkhut hit Macau on Sep- tember 16, 2018.
Macau’s electricity supply is mainly imported from the main- land, Chan noted, adding that CEM and Guangdong Power Grid (GPG) have cooperated to strengthen di- saster preparedness.
Chan mentioned as examples various measures such as increas- ing Macau’s power supply points of the 500kV main network from two to three, changing the city’s 220kV overhead cables to underground transmission cables and building a third 220kV transmission cable in conjunction with GPG, with the aim of reducing a typhoon’s impact on the transmission networks to guarantee the power supply during adverse weather conditions.
Suspending power supply during floods
“When a storm surge is in effect during a typhoon, there will be a chance of serious flooding in low-lying areas which might result in a short power cut in low- voltage distribution facilities,” Chan pointed out, adding that “CEM plans to take the initiative to suspend power supplies in some low-lying areas based on the SMG’s guidelines for storm surges and the actual flooding conditions during a typhoon in order to ensure citizens’ personal and property safety and avoid serious damage to the power facilities...this measure can help speed up power restoration after the flood recedes.”
Moreover, Chan pointed out that the company will keep citizens posted during a temporary power suspension through its Facebook page, its official website and We- Chat account in five stages, namely early warning, warning, power sus- pension, power restoration initi- ated, and power restoration com- pleted.
‘GeoGuide for Emergency’ mobile app
A senior staff member of the Land Registry and Mapping Bureau (DSCC), Johan Lei Weng Hang, told reporters during the confer- ence that the mobile App “GeoGu- ide for Emergency” was launched in October, providing online and offline emergency maps, informa- tion on areas affected by storm surges, locations of emergency shelter centre meeting points, and emergency hotlines.
In addition, Lei said that its sec- ond version provides further func- tions to estimate the range of the storm surge in affected low-lying areas and a real-time severe weath- er warning, as well as water-level monitoring information.
Users can download the app for free through App Store or Google Play in four languages, namely Tra- ditional Chinese, Simplified Chi- nese, English, and Portuguese.
Companhia de Electricidade de Macau (CEM) engineer Gabriel Chan U Fai addresses yesterday’s conference at the CEM Building in Estrada de D. Maria II. Photo: Rachel Lei
