Shenzhen agrees to notify HK as soon as possible when planning flood discharge: Chris Tang

The Panel on Security of the Legislative Council discussed the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Emergency Response on Tuesday, with lawmakers concerned regarding the arrangements for the flood discharge on the mainland.

Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said the Shenzhen government previously would only notify the Hong Kong government after deciding to discharge flood water.

Tang said he had discussed with the authorities in Shenzhen in November last year, and they agreed that the SAR government would be notified as soon as possible when a flood discharge is expected.

He also stated that the Shenzhen authority informed the SAR government 45 minutes in advance of the flood discharge from the Shenzhen reservoir last September, and the SAR government released a press release 16 minutes before the discharge to notify the locals.

Tang admitted that the timing of the news release might be late, though the authorities have strived to make arrangements to inform residents of the appropriate actions to take.

The security chief said that under the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Emergency Management Co-operation and Greater Bay Area Emergency Response Operation Co-operation Framework Agreement, a more systematic emergency response operation mechanism would be established to enable Hong Kong, Macau, and Shenzhen to handle incidents together and explore ways to facilitate the smooth flow of emergency response personnel, equipment, and supplies during the handling of emergencies.