Super Typhoon Mangkhut: one year on from Hato’s deadly hit, is Macau any better prepared to handle a monster storm? Lawmakers have their doubts
Communication has improved and some precautions have been taken, but concerns over infrastructure remain more than 12 months after 10 died in 2017 super typhoon at casino hub
The monster storm is expected to hit the city this weekend, and while communication with residents in the former Portuguese enclave has markedly improved, there are doubts over whether infrastructure will stand up to the more than 200km/h winds expected to batter China’s coast.
Last year, 10 people died in the worst storm to hit Macau in more than 50 years. Streets were flooded, water and electricity supplies cut off and, for the first time, troops from the Chinese army were deployed in the city to help clear up.
The Macau government was criticised for its poor response to Hato. Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai-on made a public apology for being ill-prepared, and Fong Soi-kun resigned as director of the Macau Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau. Chui formed a committee to review and improve the government’s mechanisms in facing severe disasters.
Compared with last August, when the super typhoon hit, some of Macau’s lawmakers said the government had been better at keeping the public up to date this time around.