In view of global climate change and the increasing risk of natural disasters, according to the forecast of the Geophysical and Meteorological Bureau, about 4 to 7 tropical cyclones will affect Macao this year, among which "severe typhoon" or above cannot be ruled out.
In order to continuously strengthen the public's awareness of disaster prevention and mitigation and enhance the effectiveness of Macao's comprehensive response to natural disasters, the Civil Defence Framework held the annual Typhoon Civil Defence Exercise codenamed "Crystal Fish 2024" on 27 April, with the participation of members of the Civil Defence Structure, associations and professional organizations, as well as members of the public, with the aim of continuously enhancing the tacit understanding and synergy between all sectors of the community and the Civil Defence Framework in responding to disasters through the annual Civil Defence Exercise, arousing the public's attention to disaster prevention, and strengthening the resilience of the community in disaster prevention.
The Civil Defense Operations Center simulated a live broadcast speech, and the Police General Headquarters coordinated a summary of the exercise for reporters to interview.
Customs led the emergency evacuation of the participants of the exercise in the lower ring area
The exercise, which lasted 4 hours and 15 minutes, simulated a total of 50 possible incidents during the typhoon, and was attended by 43 civil society organizations, higher education institutions and non-tertiary schools across Macao, with a total of 2,377 participants (including 31 civil defense volunteers and 366 citizens), involving a total of more than 3,679 simulated evacuation households.
The Public Security Police led the participants of the exercise to evacuate in the Ha Wan District
Officers of the Judiciary Police assisted in the evacuation of residents to evacuation centres and carried out civil defence publicity work
Officers of the Fire Services Bureau led members of the public to the evacuation centre and joined hands with civil organisations to carry out publicity and investigation work in the exercise area.
Officers of the Higher Education Institute of the Macao Security Forces simulated assistance to citizens injured during the evacuation and carried out civil defence publicity work.
Some members of the public who participated in the exercise expressed their agreement with the civil defence exercise, believing that it could serve as a reminder to residents in the old districts, especially the elderly, so that they could know that the typhoon season was approaching and be vigilant. When storm surge occurs, it can quickly cooperate with the government to evacuate.
Some students who participated in the exercise found the exercise meaningful and learned the emergency measures and escape routes in the event of a typhoon power outage.
The Education and Youth Development Bureau coordinated with the University of Macau and the Labor School Secondary School to organize teachers and students to participate in the "Crystal Fish 2024" live exercise.
During the Crystal Fish exercise, a number of accidents during typhoons were simulated and special drills were conducted to test the collaborative handling capabilities of civil defence structure members.
Information and some photo sources: Police Headquarters