Typhoon Drill ‘Crystal Fish’ declared a Success

Macao SAR Government's civil protection entities held a typhoon drill codenamed 'Crystal Fish' on 28^th April. One of the important objectives of the drill was to examine the practicality and operability of two emergency plans; namely, 'Plan of Evacuation of the Low Zones in Situations of Storm Surge' and 'Command Platform for Emergency Response', with a further goal of examining and strengthening the operation capability of the various entities.

The drill took place in the environs of Rua de Praia do Manduco and Coloane on the same day from 2:00pm to 7:20pm. The drill simulated Macao being hit by super typhoon 'Crystal Fish', with Macao Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) announcing a Black Storm Surge Warning combined with high tide. This simulated a severe flood high of 1.5m in the low-lying district, endangering residents who live in the area. The entities immediately responded and began evacuation of the affected area.

A series of emergency responses was launched by 29 members of the entities, which included disseminating the latest information about the drill and the storm to residents and visitors via SMS, mainstream media, social media, radio broadcast, electronic display board, and so forth; the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau workers cleared a fallen tree and blocked drains, while the Marine and Water Bureau issued warning signals whilst patrolling the seashore.

As for evacuation, the public security forces and other related bureaus launched three different evacuation measures; namely, 'Safe and Ordinary Evacuation', 'Fast and Safe Evacuation' and 'Emergency Evacuation', in their respective areas, evacuating any residents who lived on the lower floors in the affected area. Meanwhile, local non-governmental organisations (NGO) and voluntary workers assisted needy people, accompanying them to the rally point (Community Centre of S. Lourenço Municipal Market Complex).

From there they travelled to emergency shelter (Instituto Salesiano, Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion and Escola Superior das Forças de Segurança de Macau), operated by the Social Welfare Bureau, via transportation provided by the Transport Bureau, Fire Services Bureau, Macau Red Cross and Cáritas Macau. With the outstanding co-operation between all bureaus, the drill was successfully conducted.

The drill not only simulated common cases that appear during a storm, as emergency cases were also simulated, including the refusal of evacuation, gas leakage, search and rescue in basement car parks in low-lying land, and in flooded areas plus post-disaster recovery. All entities performed their duties well, participated in the contingency measures, and handled the simulated disasters with efficacy.

The drill simulated 31 possible situations during the storm, with more than 1700 personnel from both the entities and local NGOs participating, the first time non-government organisations had participated in a typhoon drill. The drill achieved the target goal of reinforcing communication between government services and NGOs, strengthening their disaster response abilities.

Following the drill, members of the services reviewed and accelerated their emergency plans in preparation for the approaching typhoon season in order to protect the lives and property of citizens.