The Highways Department has handled around 5,600 urgent road incidents this year amid extreme weather, marking a rise from an average of 400 cases reported annually from 2020 to 2022 and last year, said regional highway engineer Chan Wai-tak.
The surge in incidents is attributed to the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, including five Black Rainstorm Warnings and two No 10 Hurricane Signals issued during the rainy season, Chan said, adding that extreme weather has become the "new normal" in Hong Kong.
To enhance the efficiency of road emergency response, the authority has included the use of technology and fostered interdepartmental collaboration.
"If you recall, after Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018, it took several days for the damaged roads to return to normal, but after Typhoon Ragasa this year, most cases were resolved overnight," he said.
Chan noted that HyD has developed an electronic case management system, which has been in operation at its emergency control centers since last year. The system will automatically receive cases referred through the 1823 hotline or identified by contractors during inspections.
Contractors can use the system to track cases and upload photos instantly before and after repair work, significantly improving the department's case-handling efficiency.
Chan compared the system to a "food delivery platform" where cases are treated like "delivery orders," allowing contractors to assign tasks based on the nature of the case, such as fallen trees or flooding.
In addition, HyD has installed flood warning systems in 16 low-lying pedestrian subways including those along Shing Mun River in Sha Tin, Lam Tsuen River in Tai Po, and Tai Po River. When water levels in the subways exceed the default heights, warning messages will be displayed on the board installed outside said subways to advise pedestrians not to enter, he said.
Chan added that the department has also equipped those subways with ultrasonic water level sensors and non-recording CCTV to provide real-time information to the emergency control center for timely personnel deployment to address flooding incidents.
The HyD has also utilized drones to measure data for significant landslide incidents, facilitating team assessments. For instance, after severe rain on August 5 caused landslides in Bride's Pool, the department deployed drones for inspection and decided to carry out emergency repairs using rock fills.
Chan highlighted that during Ragasa, there were numerous cases of fallen trees on the roads.
Thanks to the Fire Services Department's assistance with some cleanup work, the roads were cleared within a day, allowing most of the city's traffic to resume to normal the following day.
