Authorities conduct drill in response to massive power outage situation

Authorities on Sunday conducted an inter-departmental drill at the Tung Wah Eastern Hospital in Happy Valley in response to a simulated large-scale power outage on Hong Kong Island.

The police, together with the Fire Services Department, Hospital Authority, Transport Department, Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, and Hongkong Electric Company, joined the drill to enhance collaboration, prevention, and emergency preparedness in handling local emergencies.

The exercise simulated a significant power outage in Wan Chai district during morning peak hours. An oil truck crashed into an electricity substation and burst into flames, causing some traffic lights to malfunction and disrupting the electricity supply to some buildings on the island, including Tung Wah Eastern Hospital. 

With the power outage, the hospital's backup generators also failed, creating the need to transfer patients to other hospitals urgently. 

The drill aimed to test and strengthen the personnel's ability to plan and execute large-scale inter-departmental rescue operations.

HK Electric mobilized around 20 staff to take part in the exercise. A field command center was set up at Marsh Road Zone Substation to handle the incident and restore power supply to affected customers as soon as possible.

The exercise utilized for the first time the Geospatial Analytics, Information and Applications (GAIA) system developed by the Innovation and Solution Lab, Information Systems Wing of Police.

The system provides spatial information about a specific location by presenting various terrains and buildings in a three-dimensional format. As a result, participating units will be able to quickly understand the relevant terrains and situations in the event of an accident, as well as formulate and execute the optimal action plan based on different conditions, thereby enhancing rescue efficiency.

"Police will continue to maintain close contact with stakeholders, conduct regular inter-department exercises, and review contingency plans for major incidents to strengthen coordination between different departments and organizations," police said.