The cable bridge at Long Ping Zhongdian in Yuen Long caught fire on the evening of Monday (21st), causing a major power outage in Yuen Long, Tin Shui Wai and Tuen Mun. The power supply was not fully restored until the morning of Tuesday (22nd).
During the accident, the relevant government departments mobilized manpower and regional resources for emergency response, but the government did not activate the emergency warning system to notify the public of the accident. The ability to coordinate is questionable.
The incoming new government must learn from this and formulate plans for the interruption of various essential services, especially the Home Affairs and Youth Affairs Bureau, which is responsible for local administration.
The government established an emergency alert system two years ago with the aim of sending messages to citizens through the mobile phone network to take contingency measures in the event of an emergency that may endanger the safety of life and property.
Deputy Environment Secretary Tse Chin-wan and Security Secretary Tang Ping-keung explained on Tuesday that the accident occurred in a localized area, so the system was not used.
This response is really difficult to convince the public, because when the incident happened, it was off-duty hours, and many residents of the district were still outside the district. They needed to consider whether to change their way back, so it was not a matter of one district.
Furthermore, a sudden and widespread power outage is an emergency, which affects drinking water and the Internet. All Hong Kong citizens should also have the most direct information from the government.
In view of the fact that many residents in the district have reported that the mobile phone network is interrupted, the government must negotiate with the telecommunications provider to find out whether the provider's base station can still transmit emergency alerts even in the event of a power outage.
Fire scene situation.
(provided by the reader)
The emergency system is not activated, and the official response is difficult to convince the public
I still remember that the government used the system for the first time in March this year, announcing Queen Elizabeth Hospital as a designated hospital for the new crown.
In contrast, the power outage is more urgent than the hospital changes. How could the government put the 150 million yuan system on the shelf?
This is worrying that the government's cross-departmental co-ordination and co-ordination ability in rare incidents such as power outages will fail, and various departments have taken action on their work, such as the Police Department's deployment of more police, the Fire Department's rescue of trapped lifts, and the Home Affairs Department's opening of temporary shelters.
Regardless of whether there is a lack of cross-departmental coordination, what the society sees is that the government only issued a press release late at night saying it was concerned about accidents and activated the accident monitoring and support center, and the Education Bureau's follow-up speed was slower than other departments.
The bureau did not announce the closure of 11 schools in Tin Shui Wai until 6:44 this morning, and three more were added later. However, at that time, teachers were already on their way to school, and some students and parents may still be troubled by power outages, and they were hesitant to go out early.
If high-level government coordination is appropriate, it may be possible to urge the Education Bureau to judge earlier, so that teachers and students will not know at the last minute whether classes are suspended or not.
Read through the "Emergency Response System" document of the Security Bureau. The content is mostly based on natural disasters such as wind, rain and fire, marine rescue and search, and nuclear accidents as examples.
In terms of power outage handling, the document states that the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department should contact the two power companies for emergency repairs as soon as possible.
Perhaps because of the long-term safety and stability of the power supply of the two power plants, and the fact that the power outages in the past were small-scale and recovered quickly, the government despised the impact of the outages.
The government has just announced that it will require CLP to submit an investigation report, but the government itself has to reflect on its faults and prepare contingency strategies for power outages.
The current government is in trouble and the new government is vigilant
In emergencies, rescue and maintenance of law and order are the main tasks, and the Fire Services Department and the police play a leading role. However, the work of emergency incidents also involves the transmission of government messages, the mobilization of local organizations, and assistance in solving local problems. These are the responsibilities of the Civil Affairs Bureau.
District Home Affairs Commissioners have to contact district councillors, zone committee members and other district organizations, and the Secretary has even asked the Chief Secretary for Administration to contact other policy bureaux by himself or herself, but residents simply cannot see such collaboration.
The current government has come to an end, but its administration has been disappointing one after another. In addition to the inability to respond to the power outage, the Jumbo Seafood Ship also "lost" and sank.
In this regard, the new government has to learn lessons from the accident.
In a recent meeting with the media, Mak Meijuan, the incoming Secretary for Home Affairs and Youth Affairs, emphasized that her past work experience in the region can help her team and local people to "do a good job in community governance" and "help solve regional problems".
Responding to emergencies is an opportunity to reflect the effectiveness of governance. Since Mai Meijuan has this ambition, she will ask the government to review emergency response measures after taking office. Information and provision of basic services.
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