For Council Meeting on 3 September 2019 SKDC(M) Paper No. 214/19

Memorandum of Sai Kung District Council Progress Report of the Sai Kung District Management Committee

The Sai Kung District Management Committee (SKDMC) held a meeting on 14 August 2019. The major issues discussed are summarised as follows:

A. Preparedness for and Emergency Response to Typhoon Attack in Sai Kung District

2. The preparedness for and emergency response to typhoon attack of various government departments are set out at Annex 1.

B. District-led Actions Scheme

3. To tackle the problem of illegal parking of bicycles in Sai Kung District, Sai Kung District Office (SKDO) continued to co-ordinate the inter-departmental joint clearance operations, put up banners and install steel meshes in the district to improve the situation. As a long-term measure, in its meeting on 12 July, the Steering Committee on District Administration chaired by the Home Affairs Bureau endorsed the application of section 4A of Summary Offences Ordinance (Cap. 228) in Sai Kung District to enhance the clearance of illegally parked bicycles that caused obstruction of roads. SKDO was discussing with the Transport Department (TD) the details and schedule of rolling out the measure.

C. Safety of the road leading to Reservoir East Dam

4. The Water Supplies Department (WSD), TD and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) held a meeting on 11 June to discuss the safety issue of the road leading to East Dam. WSD suggested providing a lay-by near slope no. 8SE-C/FR4 and would consult AFCD on the proposal. Please see Annex 2 for the location of the proposed lay-by.

D. Problem caused by rocks on

5. Members were concerned about the danger posed to swimmers by rocks on Silverstrand Beach. The representative of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) said they attached great importance to the safety of swimmers. Lifeguards would inspect the beach environment during their daily routine and would immediately move the rocks washed ashore to the sides of the beach where practicable. LCSD will engage their contractor to take the rocks away from the beach on a regular basis.

Sai Kung District Office August 2019

Annex 1

Preparedness for and Emergency Response to Typhoon Attack in Sai Kung District

Objective

In view of the occurrence of flooding, tree collapse incidents, landslips, refuse accumulation and disruption to power and fresh water supply in many areas in Sai Kung District after previous typhoon attacks, this paper aims to brief Members on the preparedness and emergency response of various government departments.

Flood prevention

2. Before a typhoon, the Drainage Services Department (DSD) and the relevant departments will step up inspection and clearance works of inlets and drainage channels of major public storm water drainage systems in Sai Kung District to ensure that the drains are free from blockage and the drainage systems can cope with rainstorms brought by the typhoon; besides, the departments will assist in providing sandbags at some locations to reduce the flooding risk. The Sai Kung District Office (SKDO) will also liaise with residents in low-lying and remote areas to urge them to take precautions against typhoon and assist residents in need to evacuate from their homes in advance. After a typhoon attack, DSD will also maintain close liaison with the relevant departments to promptly carry out inspections and clearance works at areas affected by flooding in the district, so as to restore the operation of drainage channels and facilities and minimise the impact of flooding. To this end, DSD and the relevant departments completed a review of public storm water drainage systems in the district in late July and will continue to keep close monitoring on the flooding incidents in the district.

3. Based on the experiences of past typhoon attacks, DSD and the relevant government departments have identified low-lying areas that are susceptible to seawater inundation, including Nam Wai in Sai Kung, and locations that are prone to storm surges, including Tseung Kwan O South. For Nam Wai in Sai Kung, DSD has been proactively offering assistance to residents including providing sandbags before a typhoon attack in order to minimise the flooding risk; whereas SKDO will provide temporary shelters for residents who need to evacuate. To alleviate the flooding risk, DSD and SKDO conducted a number of site inspections in the first half of 2019 and collected residents’ views to study the appropriate locations for constructing flood prevention facilities. For Tseung Kwan O South, to reduce the overtopping waves from entering Tong Yin Street, Tong Chun Street and Chi Shin Street via Area 68, DSD completed the temporary flood prevention and drainage improvement works at the reserved site in Area 68 in June 2019; the Highways Department (HyD) completed the works for providing additional gullies at the sag points on Chi Shin Street in April 2019 to increase drainage discharge capacity of the road surface. In addition, the Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) is constructing a wave protection wall of about 600 metres in length and about 1.1 metres in height at the Tseung Kwan O Waterfront Park. Up to mid-July, the wave protection wall of about 85 metres and 50 metres were constructed at locations in the east and at the semicircle in the centre of the park respectively. It is expected that the construction of wave protection walls will be substantially completed by the end of 2019.

4. To enhance the dissemination of flooding information, DSD has worked in tandem with SKDO and the Observatory (HKO) to establish a liaison mechanism for storm surge alert in Tseung Kwan O South and Nam Wai in Sai Kung. When HKO forecasts that the sea level in those areas will reach or exceed its corresponding alert level, a storm surge alert will be issued to the relevant departments by fax or SMS message to inform them of the estimated time of reaching the alert sea level, the predicted highest sea level and the respective estimated time. Once the SMS message is received, DSD will deploy Emergency Teams formed by contractors to conduct site inspections and implement necessary flood relief measures, including assisting affected residents to tackle flooding problems as well as providing and placing sandbags for residents as needed. Based on the alert issued by HKO, SKDO will notify the respective village representatives, District Council members, residents’ organisations, property management companies and schools and call on them to take precautionary measures against typhoon and flooding.

Handling fallen trees

5. After the Fire Services Department (FSD) has received a tree failure report, an assessment will be made at the scene under normal circumstances; if it is found that the situation poses imminent or potential danger to life or property, fire personnel will saw the tree that causes danger where practicable; but if the sawing of trees cannot be performed due to environmental constraint or the equipment available, fire personnel will try to strengthen the support for the hazardous tree in order to reduce the risk, and then refer the cases for follow-up actions. If a public road is blocked, the fire control centre will decide whether to provide the service subject to the nature of the incident and resources available for deployment by FSD.

6. Upon receiving a tree failure report, the Police will make an assessment first. During a typhoon attack, the Police will arrive at the scene to handle all cases involving injuries or imminent danger immediately. The objective of all operations is to save lives and avoid damage to properties. Meanwhile, all trunk roads obstructed by fallen trees will be cleared immediately for emergency vehicles to gain access.

7. Other cases of fallen trees that do not pose imminent danger are followed up by the relevant tree management departments. Tree Management Office of the Development Bureau briefed the Sai Kung District Management Committee (SKDMC) on tree management issues in November 2018 and will continue to coordinate and encourage government departments to implement quality greening and tree management initiatives. To facilitate government departments1 to share and exchange emergency information during a typhoon attack for assessing the situation and formulating contingency plans and measures, government departments will use the Common Operational Picture (COP), which is an electronic, map-based platform for real-time sharing of emergency information among relevant government departments under adverse weather conditions.

1 Including DSD (on flooding); HyD (on major road incidents); CEDD, Lands Department and Housing Department (on landslides); Buildings Department (on building/structural incidents); Hong Kong Police Force and FSD (on dangerous scaffolding and fallen tree, and other super typhoon-related data); and HKO, Transport Department, Home Affairs Department and Census and Statistics Department (covering supporting information).

8. After the onslaught of super typhoon Mangkhut on Hong Kong last year, tree collapse incidents were reported at a number of locations in the district. Government departments have been continuously reviewing and handling cases of fallen trees at different locations in Sai Kung District, including carriageways, cycle tracks, pedestrian walkways, emergency vehicular accesses, entrances/exits of residential estates and car parks, etc. Clearance work has been conducted and substantially completed by now. Since the rainy season this year, SKDO has received about 20 requests for pruning trees on the roadside or next to houses, which are mainly located on Hiram’s Highway and Road, and near village settlements. The cases have been referred to the relevant departments for follow-up actions.

Landslip preventive measures

9. The Geotechnical Engineering Office (GEO) of CEDD provides 24-hour emergency service all year round. In case of danger arising from landslips, GEO will provide advice on geotechnical engineering to tie in with the emergency responses of various government departments and protect the general public. Geotechnical engineers of CEDD will conduct inspections at the scene with relevant government departments upon request and offer advice on the necessary mitigation measures or emergency works. The Slope Safety Division of CEDD briefed SKDMC on slope maintenance in February 2019. Since the rainy season this year, SKDO has received 9 requests for inspection of slope safety mainly in Tseung Kwan O South and on Road and Hiram’s Highway, and the cases have been referred to the relevant departments for follow-up actions. Government departments will continue to carry out slope maintenance work regularly.

Cleaning up accumulated refuse

10. The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) will step up patrolling after a typhoon attack and take appropriate actions according to the needs and situation of the district to maintain environmental hygiene of streets and coastal areas.

Handling sunken vessels and marine refuse

11. Before the onset of a typhoon, the Marine Department (MD) will distribute pamphlets to maritime community to remind owners and persons-in-charge of vessels to take precautionary measures against typhoon. Depending on the situation after a typhoon attack, MD will deploy manpower to handle marine accidents, such as stranding, list or sinking of vessels, etc., and will deploy contractors to salvage and dispose of the wrecks as soon as possible.

12. The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) will notify, in accordance with relevant alert mechanism and protocol, relevant government departments (including the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, FEHD, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and MD) to deploy manpower in advance for cleaning up massive amount of marine refuse that may appear after a typhoon attack. Before a typhoon approaches the territory, the relevant government departments will carry out preventive measures such as clearance of litter bins in coastal areas; after the passage of the typhoon or rainstorm, the departments will also enhance patrolling and cleaning up refuse at sea or along the shoreline in accordance with the protocol.

13. With an aim of cleaning up a large quantity of marine refuse that may appear in the waters of Inner , Port Shelter, Hebe Haven, etc. after a typhoon attack, MD has reached a consensus with DSD and FSD. Without affecting the emergency marine operations of FSD, a berthing point for MD’s marine refuse reception vessels will be set up at Sai Kung Sewage Treatment Works to promptly carry away marine refuse collected in the district by land transport and expedite the clearance process.

Maintenance of power and fresh water supply

14. SKDO will closely liaise with the Water Supplies Department, CLP Power, Towngas, etc. to ensure that power and fresh water supply will be maintained at a normal level during and after a typhoon attack. Appropriate and practicable assistance will also be rendered in emergency situations.

Community support

15. SKDO activates the District Emergency Co-ordination Centre when the Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8 is in force, which co-ordinates rescue operations and dissemination of incident information among the relevant departments. Moreover, the respective temporary shelters will be open to members of the public in need and support services will also be provided if the circumstances warrant. Taking the actual situation into account, SKDO will consider whether there is a need to open the temporary shelters earlier. After a typhoon attack, SKDO will grant persons in need the General Chinese Charities Fund to meet emergency needs subject to their circumstances.

16. Before a typhoon hits Hong Kong, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) will notify all welfare service units to assist in calling on their users to protect their homes by taking precautionary measures against typhoon and to offer support in view of the possible needs arising from a typhoon attack. For people lacking support or living in remote areas including elderly singletons and the disabled, SWD will assist them to evacuate from their places of residence earlier and settle at the homes of their family or friends or refer them to use residential care services. SWD will also liaise with SKDO to provide daily necessities at temporary shelters in advance for use by members of the public who need to stay there. After a typhoon attack, SWD will provide support for families and people in need, including assisting them to apply for the charitable funds to carry out repairs at their homes and replace damaged household equipment. SWD will also contact the relevant government departments to handle cases involving fallen trees, housing needs, etc.

17. After the strike of super typhoon Mangkhut last year, many non-profit organisations, charitable organisations and construction firms volunteered to participate in the relief work. SKDO often takes note of the community resources that can be mobilised for voluntary work and make referrals to facilitate the recovery work undertaken by different government departments in the aftermath of a typhoon attack.

Annex 2

Proposed Lay-by