Macao publishes final report on Typhoon Hato impact, emergency response

MACAO - The government of China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) has published the final report assessing the overall impact of last year's Typhoon Hato and offering suggestions for optimizing its mechanism for managing emergencies, the SAR's government Information Bureau said here on Thursday.

Typhoon Hato struck Macao on Aug 23 last year, killing 10 people and injuring over 240 others, as well as resulting in heavy economic losses.

The report offers practical advice on measures appropriate to Macao in relation to prevention or mitigation of disasters, post-disaster relief measures, and the SAR's response mechanism for any public emergency.

The Commission for Reviewing and Monitoring the Improvements of the Response Mechanism to Major Disasters commissioned respectively the Institute for Public Safety Research at Tsinghua University, the North China University of Technology, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs' National Disaster Reduction Center of China to draw up the report.

The four research themes in the final report offer suggestions for complementary effort in areas of meteorology, electricity supply, flood control measures at the inner harbor, and work relating to the fire services.

The Information Bureau said the SAR government is stepping up effort to advance Macao's overall capabilities for disaster prevention and mitigation, including amendment to the Civil Protection Law, the formulation of a 10-year plan for disaster prevention and mitigation (2019-2028), and the establishment of a new emergency command system.

The government will also strive to initiate an insurance system covering losses from major disasters, an overall emergency response plan, the construction of major fundamental infrastructure, and promotion of safety awareness of the public.