No promise to provide 75-minute advanced notice for T9, says environment chief

Hong Kong’s environment chief said on Wednesday that the Hong Kong Observatory could only “try their best” to issue warnings ahead of adverse weather conditions, adding there is no promise that the weather watchdog could provide a 75-minute advanced notice for T9.

This came after lawmakers raised concerns that the advance notice given by the Observatory is too short, leading to commuters and tourists being stranded for hours outdoors after the MTR suspended its services under the T9 signal during Typhoon Koinu last month.

The 75-minute advanced notice was proposed by Roundtable Lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun, who said people should be allowed sufficient time to return home ahead of the hoisting of the T9 signal.

“The longest train journey on the MTR should be the Tuen Ma Line, which takes approximately 75 minutes for the entire journey from Tuen Mun to Wu Kai Sha. 

“Therefore, Roundtable requested that in the future, when the Hong Kong Observatory decides to raise the T8 signal to T9, there must be an advanced and synchronized notification to the entire city, ensuring that it is not less than 75 minutes allowing the trains to run their full journey after the announcement,” he said.

In response, the environment chief said there is no promise regarding the 75-minute advanced notice as the T9 typhoon signal could only be hoisted when a typhoon is very close to the city.

“The T9 signal could only be considered when a typhoon is in close proximity to Hong Kong, with slight changes in the typhoon's path or wind strength affecting the need to raise the T9 signal within a short period of time,” said Tse, adding there should not be hard and fast rules regarding the advance warning, which could lead to catastrophic consequences.