Typhoons should remind us of the need to take sensible precautions
In Hong Kong some people were glad about getting a day off because of Typhoon Hato, but is was a very different situation in Macau (“Grieving Macau residents recount horror of Typhoon Hato”, August 26).
There were fatalities and many people’s homes were damaged by high winds and flooding. The Macau government (and especially the observatory) was heavily criticised for its response to the storm, in particular, for not taking the necessary preventive measures, such as raising higher typhoon signals earlier.
Governments in cities like Macau and Hong Kong should always have comprehensive preventive measures in place. Timely warnings should be issued to citizens explaining what they should do to stay safe when the storm hits. These cities do not get as many severe storms as other parts of the region, but they do happen and we must be ready for them.
We can learn from the preventive measures that have been put in place in Japan to deal with earthquakes. Of course the devastation from an earthquake can be far greater than a typhoon, but officials should still be prepared and be ready to act quickly. They also need to be able to help citizens when power is cut and supplies of essential items like fresh water are in short supply.
I hope Macau will recover as soon as possible and that the government will learn lessons from what happened last week.
Sandy Chan, Tseung Kwan O