Chief Secretary hopes for smooth return to work and school on Mon as relief operation completed

The government announced on Sunday that schools and work would properly resume smoothly on Monday as the relief works after the torrential rain have been "basically completed."

Chief Secretary for Administration Chan Kwok-ki said in a joint press conference on Sunday that there were major issues in most of the districts during the rainstorm, and the government did its utmost to ensure the return to normalcy as soon as possible. 

He added that work and school should return to normal tomorrow (Sep 11) except for certain unusual cases.

Chan added that 80 roads affected by the torrential rain had been cleaned up, with about six still affected. The Transportation Department's Traffic Control Center will continue monitoring the transportation and logistics all over the city tomorrow.

Under Secretary for Education, Jeff Sze Chun-fai said most of the 117 schools that required assistance after the torrential rain can resume classes tomorrow, with about ten schools still working on the debris cleaning and will arrange remote learning on Monday.

Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan said about 3,300 households experienced electricity outages during the rainstorm, and the power supply for those affected was fully restored after emergency repairs.

He added that the import of mainland live pigs, suspended for a day due to the torrential rain, has now returned to normal.

The Drainage Services Department said it has received 60 confirmed cases of flooding, all of which have been eliminated and the affected areas reopened. 

The Civil Engineering & Development Department's Geotechnical Engineering Office has completed inspecting 54 landslide cases which were relatively severe, and had advised departments responsible for slope maintenance to carry out urgent slope maintenance works.

Tree management departments will conduct another round of inspections to ensure the stability of trees after the torrential rain. Authorities will also inspect the external walls of buildings by using drones to ascertain their condition as early as possible.