Officials Eye 'smart Barriers' To Monitor Slopes

Engineering officials said on Thursday that they hope to have a smart censor system at more debris-resisting barriers by mountain and hillside slopes to monitor vulnerable spots more closely and lessen the impact of landslides.

The Civil Engineering and Development Department installed a "smart barrier" system in June last year at a hillside in Tsuen Wan which transmits data back to a monitoring centre around the clock.

The system, developed in collaboration with the Chinese University, is aimed at issuing alerts faster and cutting response times for emergency operations following landslides.

The Civil Engineering and Development Department recorded over 150 landslide reports last year – down from 226 in the year before.

But a deputy head at the department, Au Yeung Yan-sang, warned that the trend may reverse as Observatory officials have predicted more chances of extreme weather conditions in future.