Police carry out evacuation drill in low-lying areas

The Judiciary Police (PJ) has carried out an evacuation drill for low-lying areas, including the area between Ponte 16 and Rua de Francisco António and the areas east of NAPE in case of a storm surge.
According to a statement released by the bureau, the purpose of the drill was to improve communication between evacuation plan personnel and the command center, as well as their ability to collaborate, optimizing the various emergency plans.
Director of the PJ Sit Chong Meng, and deputy directors Tou Sok Sam and Chan Kin Hong, were among the 140 participants from the bureau who participated in the drill on Saturday.
Twenty observers were invited, including representatives from the nine civic associations of the areas which they were assigned to evacuate. Thirty citizens also participated in the drill.
The exercise simulated the conditions during the passage of a typhoon, where there is flooding in the low-lying areas of Macau and the evacuation plan is being initiated according to the instructions given by the civil protection structure.
The PJ command center then directed the evacuation plan team personnel to immediately go to designated areas to carry out evacuation tasks.
According to the bureau, through the use of its exclusive mobile application program which includes the data of residents, shopkeepers and people who need help from the areas referred for evacuation, the PJ personnel managed to improve the evacuation plan and simultaneously warn residents and assist them in the evacuation.
The PJ also conducted exercises together with the civic associations, to refer people in need to the shelter center.
Finding residents with injuries during the evacuation was also simulated. In this case, the evacuation plan team personnel directed the command center to send patrol vehicles to the site for support.
The response capacity of personnel in the face of sudden incidents was also tested, as well as the cooperative capacity of the command center, thus improving the speed and efficiency of evacuation work.
In June, the civil protection structure carried out its annual typhoon drill, “Crystal Fish,” to familiarize the public with the evacuation plan in the event of serious flooding.
The structure also launched evacuation operations in the low-lying areas.
In the simulation, the passage of the severe typhoon was accompanied by a storm surge and astronomical tide. This year, it was carried out in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, adding to the simulated difficulties of the exercise.
These drills are conducted to test the operational capacity of the authorities, in particular civil protection entities, to respond to a severe typhoon and storm surge.
Following the tragedy of Typhoon Hato in 2018, which claimed 10 lives and caused extensive damage to property, these drills were one of the preventive measures the government launched to minimize the destruction caused by mega-typhoons.