Emergency alert can broadcast messages in specific areas: IT expert

The emergency alert system should be activated for the blackout in New Territories West on Tuesday night with the broadcast message circulating specific areas, according an I.T. expert. 

Citizens and lawmakers recently concentrated fire on the government for not ringing the alert and leaving over 500,000 residents in Tuen Mun,Yuen Long and Tin Shui Wai in the dark. 

Secretary for Security Christ Tang Ping-keung on Wednesday explained that the blackout only affected some areas and the system should only be activated over incidents that require all citizens' immediate concerns. 

Francis Fong Po-kiu, honorary president of the Hong Kong Information Technology Federation, is on citizens' side as well and said the system should be activated that night. 

Speaking in a radio interview on Thursday, Fong pointed out that there are two alert levels for the emergency alert system, namely “Emergency Alert” and “Extreme Emergency Alert,” and the system can broadcast the emergency messages in a specific district. 

He continued that each wireless network station can cover two to three kilometers in radius and citizens' phones can be reached by different network stations. As long as the network service providers have their stations located in the area, users can still receive the emergency message despite weak signals. 

There is also backup power supply at each network station so the stations should do fine for a while even amid the power outage, Fong added. 

As for the procedures on activating the system and who should be in charge to make the final call, Fong called on the government to issue internal guidelines so that the public can receive the emergency messages swiftly.