a) Public Information

Apart from constructing new drainage facilities, the Government has put in place non-structural measures to help tackle the flooding problem. One of the measures is to provide the public with better information to minimize public inconvenience and flood losses. Forecasts of typhoons, rainstorms and floods are disseminated to the public as quickly as possible.

The Government will publicly broadcast rainstorm warnings and make a special flood announcement for the flood prone Northern New Territories when the situation warrants. An Amber rainstorm warning signal will be issued when heavy rain exceeding 30 mm in an hour has fallen or is expected to fall generally over the territory. Similarly, a Red or Black warning signal will be issued when more than 50 or 70 mm of rain has fallen or is forecast to fall in an hour respectively.

These warnings are aimed to give ample time for concerned staff to take proper and precautionary actions and also for the officials of the Education Department to decide whether students should go to school in view of the flooding hazards. Pamphlets are distributed from time to time to promote public awareness of flooding hazards and to advise on the steps, which can be taken to reduce flood losses.

b) Flood Warning System

Schematic layout of Flood warning system

As interim measures to minimize flood losses before the long term improvement works are completed, local flood warning systems have been installed at flood prone villages to inform the villagers when the flood water reaches a predetermined alert level. The warnings are disseminated through flood sirens or through automatic telephone calls to the village representatives. Flood shelters will also be made available during emergencies to provide an adequate safety net for the majority of flood affected residents.

 Download the information pamphlet on the flood warning alarm system (PDF format, 3,203KB)