CS chairs meeting of steering committee on handling extreme weather
The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, chaired a meeting of the steering committee on handling extreme weather yesterday (July 9) to holistically review and steer cross-departmental overall preparations and response plans for typhoons and rainstorms, and to make advance preparations for the forecast adverse weather conditions, such as rainstorms and squally thunderstorms, in the coming two days. The Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Cheuk Wing-hing; the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, and representatives from relevant bureaux and departments also attended the meeting.
Over the past year, under the Chief Executive's instruction, Mr Chan has been directing various bureaux and departments to implement and enhance response measures in four areas, namely advance preparations, enhanced early warning, decisive emergency response and speedy recovery, with a view to protecting people's safety as first priority, as well as minimising the damage and impact of extreme weather.
According to the present forecast, Tropical Cyclone Danas, now over Fujian, will enter Guangdong today (July 10), and weaken gradually. The active southwest monsoon to its south will generally affect the vicinity of the Pearl River Estuary today and tomorrow (July 11). There will be torrential rain and squally thunderstorms over the territory. The weather may be relatively severe by then. The public are advised to pay attention to the latest weather forecast and warnings from the Observatory.
In response to the possible adverse weather conditions, Mr Chan co-ordinated the advance preparatory work of relevant departments in the meeting, which includes:
- The Drainage Services Department had made special arrangement to inspect and carry out necessary clearance last night at about 240 locations which are prone to flooding because of blockages.The "just-in-time"arrangement will continue, with 180 emergency response teams to conduct inspection and clearance of drainage channels in different districts across the territory.
- The Highways Department will inspect again the flood warning systems installed at road tunnels and pedestrian subways with a higher risk of flooding today, such as Kwun Tong Road Underpass, some pedestrian subways along Shing Mun River in Sha Tin, Lam Tsuen River in Tai Po and Tai Po River, to ensure normal operation.The Highways Department has also reminded relevant staff members and contractors to pay close attention to the weather conditions in order to make advance preparations for the activation of the Emergency Control Centres when necessary.
- District Offices have immediately initiated relevant response measures, including co-ordinating with other departments and organisations to enhance preparedness. They will also mobilise District Council members, members of "the three committees"and Care Teams to disseminate the latest weather information to residents in flood-prone areas, reminding them to make necessary preparations.
- The Emergency Monitoring and Support Centre (EMSC) of the Security Bureau will be fully activated from 5pm today to monitor the situation in the city. Utilising the Common Operational Picture, the EMSC will conduct real-time citywide monitoring, and integrate updates from various departments to swiftly assess risks and formulate response plans and measures. Various emergency response teams, including the Fire Services Department, the Hong Kong Police Force, the Civil Aid Service and the Auxiliary Medical Service, have completed all necessary preparatory work and are on standby, so as to handle possible emergencies during heavy rainstorms and high wind, and to provide assistance to those in need.
- The Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centreof the Transport Departmentwill continue to operate round-the-clock. It will also closely monitor traffic and transport conditions with public transport agencies, and disseminate emergency traffic information and public transport service arrangements to the public in a timely manner.
The Education Bureau will closely monitor the weather conditions and announce the arrangements for schools and Primary Six students' registration with their allocated secondary schools under the Secondary School Places Allocation as early as necessary to facilitate parents and students to make early preparations.
The Labour Department reminded employers to make prior work arrangements for employees during rainstorm warnings and extreme conditions as early as possible, including arrangements on reporting for duty, release from work, resumption of work and remote work (if applicable). In drawing up and implementing the arrangements, employers should give prime consideration to employees' safety and the feasibility of employees travelling to and from their workplaces, etc. Employers should also give consideration as much as possible to the different situations and actual difficulties faced by individual employees, and adopt a sympathetic and flexible approach.
The Government departments will continue to serve with dedication and make advance preparations on all fronts to safeguard the lives and property of the public as well as public safety. The Government urges the public to stay alert and stay away from dangerous places such as rivers and slopes in adverse weather conditions, refrain from water sports, and continue to pay attention to the latest news released by the Government.
CS chairs meeting of steering committee on handling extreme weather Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
CS chairs meeting of steering committee on handling extreme weather Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Special traffic and transport arrangements for Hong Kong Marathon 2026
The Transport Department (TD) today (January 12) reminded members of the public that, to facilitate the holding of the Hong Kong Marathon 2026 this Sunday (January 18), temporary road closures will be implemented at various locations in phases from 11.30pm on Saturday (January 17)and will be reopened subject to the race progress. It is anticipated that all closed roads will be reopened by about 2pm on Sunday.
This year, the full and half marathon races will start at Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui. The full marathon race will route through major road sections including Nathan Road (from Granville Road to Argyle Street), Argyle Street, Lin Cheung Road, West Kowloon Highway, Stonecutters Bridge, Nam Wan Tunnel, Ting Kau Bridge, Cheung Tsing Tunnel, Tsing Kwai Highway, the Western Harbour Crossing (WHC), Connaught Road West flyover, Lung Wo Road, Expo Drive, Hung Hing Road, Lockhart Road, Percival Street, Hennessy Road, Yee Wo Street and Sugar Street, and finish at Victoria Park. The half marathon race route will follow that of the full marathon race from the starting point at Nathan Road to Lin Cheung Road with the turning point at Tsing Kwai Highway and then rejoin the full marathon race route at West Kowloon Highway.
As for other races, the starting point will be set at different locations on Hong Kong Island, while all the finishing points will be set at Victoria Park. The 10-kilometre race will start at the Island Eastern Corridor (IEC) near the exit/entrance of Central-Wan Chai Bypass Tunnel (CWBT) and run along the IEC eastwards to the turning point near Oi Tak Street and then return to the finishing point. The 10-kilometre wheelchair race will start at Wan Chai Sports Ground and route through Hung Hing Road, Expo Drive, Lung Wo Road and Central Ferry Piers area and then return to run along Lung Wo Road, Hung Hing Road, Marsh Road, Lockhart Road and Hennessy Road heading for the finishing point. The Wheelchair Trial and Leaders Cup will also start at Wan Chai Sports Ground and route through Hung Hing Road and Marsh Road and then rejoin the 10-kilometre wheelchair race route heading for the finishing point.
According to the arrangements for the full and half marathon race routes, temporary closures of major road sections and their vicinities in the Yau Tsim Mong area will be implemented extensively, including (i) the whole section of Nathan Road (in both directions) between Salisbury Road and Gascoigne Road, (ii) the northbound carriageway of Nathan Road between Gascoigne Road and Argyle Street, (iii) the westbound carriageway of Argyle Street between Nathan Road and Tong Mi Road, and (iv) the slip road from Lin Cheung Road southbound to Central Kowloon Bypass (Yau Ma Tei Section). The above road sections will be reopened at or before about 10.30am in phases, subject to the progress of the races. At the same time, public transport services in this area will also be subject to extensive adjustments. Members of the public heading to this area are advised to use railway services.
Moreover, since the full marathon will use the Kowloon-bound carriageways of Cheung Tsing Highway, Cheung Tsing Tunnel and Nam Wan Tunnel as the race route, vehicles on Lantau Link (Tsing Ma Bridge) heading to Kowloon will be diverted to use North West Tsing Yi Interchange, Tsing Yi North Coastal Road, Tsing Tsuen Road, Tsuen Wan Road, Kwai Chung Road, Cheung Sha Wan Road and Lai Chi Kok Road. It is anticipated that traffic congestion along North Lantau Highway, Tsing Ma Bridge and the vicinity of North West Tsing Yi Interchange may occur.
The above road closures will not affect vehicles travelling from Hong Kong Island/Kowloon/New Territories East to Hong Kong International Airport and Lantau Island.Vehicles from the New Territories West to the airport and Lantau Island could travel via Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Tunnel. Due to the closure of the Kowloon-bound carriageway of Ting Kau Bridge, vehicles travelling via Tuen Mun Road or Tai Lam Tunnel to the airport and Lantau Island will be diverted to use Tsuen Wan Road, Tsuen Tsing Interchange, Tsing Tsuen Road, Tsing Tsuen Bridge and Tsing Yi North Coastal Road to enter Tsing Ma Bridge.
During the races, the Kowloon-bound tube of the WHC will remain open, while the Hong Kong-bound tube of the WHC will be temporarily closed from 0.45am on Sunday till about 1.15pm, subject to the progress of the races. Motorists travelling from Kowloon West to Hong Kong Island are advised to use the Cross-Harbour Tunnel or Eastern Harbour Crossing (EHC). For the race routes in Causeway Bay, Yee Wo Street eastbound will be temporarily closed to serve as a race route. Most of the public transport services operating along Yee Wo Street (in the direction of North Point) will be diverted to use Percival Street, Leighton Road and Pennington Street during the closure period.
According to the arrangements for the 10-kilometre race, both bound carriageways of the IEC between Victoria Park Road and Shau Kei Wan, and the CWBT linking to and from the IEC will be closed from 1.15am on Sunday in phases, and traffic will be diverted via appropriate alternative routes such as Connaught Road Central, Gloucester Road, King's Road, Shau Kei Wan Road, etc. Traffic to and from the EHC will be diverted to the Sai Wan Ho or Kornhill exit/entrance. Depending on the progress of the races, different sections of the CWBT will be reopened in phases to minimise the impact on traffic. Upon the anticipated reopening of the IEC before noon, the section of the CWBT between Central and North Point will be reopened, while the Wan Chai North exit from and entrance to the CWBT will be closed for most of the race time.
In connection with the road closure arrangements, starting from 11.15pm on Saturday until the reopening of the roads, 220 daytime bus routes and 34 daytime green minibus (GMB) routes will be subject to suspension, truncation or diversion, and the stopping points concerned of the affected bus and GMB services will be relocated accordingly in phases. Also, 49 overnight bus routes and six overnight green minibus routes to be affected by the road closures will be subject to the associated service adjustments. These affected bus routes include the cross-harbour routes and bus services operating in the following areas:
Hong Kong Island - bus routes operating along the IEC, the CWBT, in Central and Western District, Wan Chai and Causeway Bay areas;
Kowloon - bus routes operating along Nathan Road, Lin Cheung Road, Argyle Street, Shanghai Street, Jordan Road and Yau Tsim Mong areas; and
New Territories - bus routes operating along Ting Kau Bridge, Cheung Tsing Highway, Cheung Tsing Tunnel and Nam Wan Tunnel.
The following bus termini and public transport interchanges on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon will be suspended:
Hong Kong Island - Tin Hau Station Public Transport Interchange, Expo Drive East Bus Terminus, Central Ferry Piers Bus Terminus and Whitfield Road Bus Terminus; and
Kowloon - China Ferry Terminal Public Transport Interchange and Star Ferry Bus Terminus.
To enable participants in the full/half marathon and 10-kilometre races that start in the early morning to go to Tsim Sha Tsui or Causeway Bay, the first departures of eight rail lines of MTR services will be advanced suitably on Sunday, with the first departures on the Tuen Ma Line and East Rail Line (Sheung Shui to Admiralty) to be operated at 3.25am. In addition, 28 special bus routes will also be operated to serve participants going to Tsim Sha Tsui and Causeway Bay on Sunday.
During the road closure period, bus stops, taxi stands, taxi pick-up/drop-off points, public light bus/GMB stands, roadside parking spaces and private car parks within the closed roads and their vicinities may be suspended subject to the situation.
The commencement time of the pedestrian precinct on Lockhart Road, East Point Road and Great George Street in Causeway Bay will be postponed to 3pm on Sunday subject to the road reopening situation in the vicinity of Causeway Bay.
Members of the public and tourists heading for Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal, Hong Kong Station and Kowloon Station of the Airport Express Line, Hong Kong West Kowloon Station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, China Ferry Terminal or Ocean Terminal are advised to plan their journeys early to avoid any delays caused by road closures and traffic diversions.
The TD anticipates that the traffic at various locations on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon and the New Territories will be more significantly congested when compared with normal Sundays, including:
Hong Kong Island - King's Road, Shau Kei Wan Road, Victoria Park Road, Leighton Road, Hennessy Road, Gloucester Road, Queensway, Connaught Road Central, Aberdeen Tunnel (Wan Chai bound) and Central Ferry Piers areas;
Kowloon - Nathan Road and its vicinity, Argyle Street, Wylie Road, Gascoigne Road flyover, West Kowloon Corridor and Cross-Harbour Tunnel (both bounds), with a higher chance of long traffic queues along Gascoigne Road flyover and West Kowloon Corridor; and
New Territories - Lantau Link (Kowloon bound) and North West Tsing Yi Interchange.
Motorists should avoid driving to the above affected areas. In case of traffic congestion, they should exercise patience and drive with care, and follow the instructions of the Police on-site.
Members of the public should plan their journeys early and use alternative routes to avoid delays, and take railway services as far as possible. Public transport users are advised to pay attention to the arrangements of route diversions and changes of stop locations.
Other ad-hoc traffic and public transport measures, including adjusting the extent of road closures, traffic diversions, alterations and suspensions of public transport services, may be implemented by the Police on-site at short notice depending on the actual traffic and crowd conditions. The TD and the Police will closely monitor the traffic situation and implement appropriate measures whenever necessary. Members of the public are advised to stay alert to the latest traffic news through the media.
For information about the above special traffic and transport adjustments, members of the public may browse the TD's website at www.td.gov.hk or the "HKeMobility" mobile application.
Source: AI-found images
