HK Must Prepare For More, Bigger Storms: Greenpeace

The environmental group Greenpeace has called on government to step up its preparedness for the kind of once-in-a-decade storm that battered Hong Kong in 2018, warning that climate change will make these extreme weather events more frequent.

Typhoon Mangkhut barrelled through the city two years ago, with the Hong Kong Observatory observing that it brought damaging winds and record-breaking storm surges.

More than 400 people were injured during the passage of the storm, with hundreds of windows broken or blown out, tens of thousands of trees uprooted and electricity and fresh water supplies disrupted to several thousand households. In coastal areas, there was extensive flooding due to storm surges, and damage to waterfront structures.

Frances Yeung, a senior campaigner with Greenpeace, told RTHK’s Richard Pyne that their assessment suggests than an area equal to 147 Victoria Parks would be threatened by more extreme storms.

“We observe that more of the affected areas will be in the north-western part of Hong Kong, that is Yuen Long and North District, in which about 60,000 people will be threatened,” she said.

“Many areas in Yuen Long and North District are low-lying areas, so when a storm surge comes they are more easily flooded.”

She said after Mangkhut hit Hong Kong, insurance claims related to the storm totally nearly HK$3 billion.

“When we foresee the climate change will be getting more and more serious, Hong Kong must get prepared for those impacts,” Yeung said.

She said the Hong Kong government should assess the impact of climate change, identify which areas will be most impacted, and then develop policies to adapt.

In the short term, she said, the government should prepare for the typhoon season by improving the city’s drainage system. But in the long term, it would need to review and update data on sea-level rises to make sure infrastructure can withstand stronger storms.

Yeung said their assessment is based on a high global carbon emission scenario, meaning that aggressively tackling climate change would help prevent extreme storms from happening so frequently.

“It is a global challenge that everyone needs to work on together, but Hong Kong has an invaluable responsibility as well because we are a global city,” she said. “So we urge the government to increase the uptake of renewable energy and also to do more on energy efficiency.”

“The challenge is great, but we still have time to tackle it. It really depends on our will and determination.”