Hong Kong official urges better Greater Bay Area emergency response measures
- Chief Secretary Eric Chan says bay area vulnerable to dangers of extreme weather, as officials sign cooperation agreement
Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki said on Friday the deal would pave the way for a cross-border response mechanism among the 11 bay area cities which would allow authorities to deploy personnel in emergencies.
“The Greater Bay Area is a typical climate-vulnerable region that is easily affected by typhoons, heavy rains and other impacts,” Chan said at a signing ceremony.
The bay area is Beijing’s plan to turn Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in Guangdong province into a hi-tech economic powerhouse.
Chan cited the recent example of Guangdong recording average rainfall of 497.4mm in April alone – 1.8 times higher than the same period in normal years – as well as the “extraordinarily” heavy 145.5mm of rainfall logged in just an hour in Tseung Kwan O early last month.
“All these circumstances reflect that the challenges of extreme weather are imminent. It is even more important to strengthen emergency management cooperation in the Greater Bay Area,” he said.
Zhang Hu, executive vice-governor of Guangdong province, who also attended the ceremony, said he expected the agreement would help promote cooperation in emergency management.
