SMG admits flaws in typhoon impact forecast

Replying to two spoken enquiries regarding the latest decisions from the Weather Bureau (SMG) regarding the tropical cyclone signals raised, the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosário, admitted the forecasts might not have been totally accurate. He noted, “the decision of keeping the signal 3 hoisted [during typhoon Nida] was based on forecasts done according to available data, which revealed a probability of the storm weakening of the tropical storm as, in fact, happened,” and added that, “the activity of the SMG although is based on scientific grounds is subject to physical phenomena that has unexpected behavior.”
While his statement cleared SMG of direct responsibility, the secretary remarked that further analysis concluded that it was necessary to improve the bureau’s communication and information disclosure processes.
The reply came after enquires of lawmakers Melinda Chan and Pereira Coutinho.
The SMG director, Fong Soi Kun, followed on from the acknowledgement of Rosário, saying, “We accept that there were problems with the information disclosed and we already corrected these problems.”
Skeptical of such a fast solution Chan continued, saying, “The director [of the Weather Bureau] says that he reviewed the standards but recently we had another typhoon and apparently we were once more in counter cycle with the neighboring regions. In addition, after the lowering of the signal to 3 the website of SMG still stated the signal 8 for a long time. Things like this can’t happen.”
The lawmaker also stated that it is necessary to establish an efficient communication channel with Zhuhai on this topic since there are many people working in Macau that live across the border and different decisions on each side of the border can create many transportation problems.