The passage of typhoon Saola through Macau has caused less impact than expected, the Secretary for Security and Commander of Civil Protection task force, Wong Sio Chak said in a press conference following the end of the state of immediate prevention.
In the press conference organized by the Civil Protection Operations Centre (COPC), Wong said that the impact of the typhoon was not as severe as forecast, with a total of 188 incidents, of which 118 cases were related to treatment of objects in risk of falling and 55 related to fallen objects.
During the time the COPC was active, there was also a record of six people injured, of which one case was a bone fracture and was considered serious.
“Even if the tropical storm Saola was less severe than expected, the members of the civil protection structure efficiently launched the work of prevention and response, having ensured the life and property of the residents,” Wong said, adding, “thanks to the cooperation and understanding of citizens and tourists, as well as the work done on the prevention and reduction of disasters carried out by members of the civil protection structure, the evacuation work was carried out smoothly.”
According to the figures cited by the Secretary, the COPC visited a total of 9,064 housing units asking citizens to evacuate from the low-lying areas threatened by storm surge.
3,111 of those residents were evacuated from their homes and into government shelters. 10 of those people required special help to leave their homes and reach the shelter.
Wong acknowledged that the storm surge risks did not eventuate this time and the level of flooding in the low-lying areas of the city was very low and restricted to a small area. Evacuation was more of a precautionary measure.
The Secretary noted that even if the passage of Saola brought fewer complications than expected, citizens in general and the civil protection structure should not lower their guard, remarking that Macau is still in typhoon season and other typhoons may soon affect the region.
Storm surge warnings far-off forecast
During the period of immediate prevention, the Macao Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) issued several warnings of a storm surge, namely a “Red” warning at 7 p.m. on Friday (September 1) warning of potential flooding and water levels expected to be between 1.5 to 2.5 meter above-road. In reality, such flooding never occurred during the whole passage of “Saola,” with the maximum flooding recorded in some areas of the Inner Harbour being some 20 to 30 centimeters above the road level and, even then, only during the high tides that occurred outside the peak of the typhoon.
Although these forecasts did not eventuate, residents in the low-lying areas told government media sources that “this scenario [of an exaggerated warning] is preferable to the time when there were no warnings and people did not know how to proceed.”
Still, the high-level warning, the fourth on a scale of five, led to the deployment of a significant contingent of COPC members and vehicles to evacuate residents from the areas, which turned out to be unnecessary.
Flood alarms were sounded in the streets closer to shore for many hours. Judiciary Police vehicles were constantly patrolling those streets through the night, announcing major flooding in the area.
Typhoon Saola made landfall in southern China before dawn Saturday after nearly 900,000 people were moved to safety.
Typhoon Saola: Fourth strongest typhoon to hit Macau in six year
The weather phenomena was classified as the fourth strongest of the past six years.
The civil protection authorities remarked that the two incidents caused and observed flood levels were a lot less severe than what was initially predicted.
According to the data analysis provided by the Macao Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG), after the passage of the typhoon, the weather phenomena was classified as the fourth strongest of the past six years.
The SMG added that the same data also shows that there have been more severe typhoons in the past few years.
According to SMG, this is due to climate change that makes “extreme weather phenomena more common.”
In a list provided by the SMG that lists the typhoons of signal 10 (or equivalent) since 1968, the Saola comes in fourth after Hato (2017), Higos (2020) and Mangkhut (2018).
The same data also shows that although it was not the strongest typhoon in terms of windspeed and gusts, Saola was second in terms of distance of its trajectory to Macau, passing just 30 km from Macau. On this measure, the closest hit related to the typhoon Higos, which was just 20km off the local coastline.
When compared to the strongest typhoons since 1979, Saola is the sixth strongest passing through Macau, after York (1999) and Ellen (1983). RM
Most sports and cultural venues reopened yesterday
With Saola being less severe than expected, most sports and cultural venues reopened yesterday.
All but two facilities under Sports Bureau (ID) management remained closed yesterday, the ID said in a press statement.
“The ID needs to carry out advanced inspection and repair work on the Taipa Central Park Swimming Pool and the Coloane Karting Track. We hope to reopen to the public as soon as possible,” the Bureau said in a press statement.
Similarly, the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) noted that “after carrying out inspection and cleaning work on heritage sites, public libraries, exhibition halls, and performance venues, among other cultural facilities, which are in good condition, most facilities will reopen to the public on September 3.”
Exceptions are the Macao Contemporary Art Centre – Navy Yard No.1, which will reopen to the public today, and the Heritage Exhibition of a Traditional Pawnshop Business, which will reopen on September 5 (Tuesday). The Lai Chi Vun Shipyard are closed for cleaning works and site decorations until further notice.
