What Typhoon Mangkhut taught us: the value of being prepared and regional cooperation

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By Sonny Lo

Typhoon Mangkhut wreaked havoc on Hong Kong and Macau, causing widespread flooding and damage. Fortunately, although there have been injuries, there has been no loss of human life so far in both cities. Unlike last year when Typhoon Hato claimed 10 lives in Macau, the government there managed to brace itself better for yesterday’s storm. In both Hong Kong and Macau, the authorities prepared sufficiently while citizens were educated on how they should protect themselves.

This time, credit must first go to the intergovernmental cooperation between the observatory officials in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, who held a joint video conference on September 12, four days before the typhoon approached southern China.

Their efforts at sharing their intelligence on the movement of the storm were a testimony to how intergovernmental collaboration could contribute to collective defence against natural disasters.

Both Hong Kong and Macau raised the No 10 typhoon signal within the same time-frame, indicating that the observatories of both cities were on the same page about the strength and danger of Mangkhut, unlike last summer when Macau seemed caught unawares compared with Hong Kong.

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