During the pandemic, the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) continues to strengthen the unclogging and clearance of sewers and municipal pumping stations to ensure smooth operation of the drainage system and avoid the risk of pandemic spread caused by drainage blockage. Recently, a large amount of domestic waste such as towels and masks has been found in public sewers, which not only seriously affected the operation of the sewers, but could also easily cause sewage backflow, increasing the risk of pandemic spread in the community.

IAM strongly urges the public not to discharge domestic waste into the drains, especially not to discard the waste in the toilets and discharge it into the drains. Some waste that is large in size can easily get entangled and block the internal drains and the public sewers of the buildings, and blocked sewers are likely to result in sewage backflow, increasing the risk of pandemic spread in the community. If members of the public notice any abnormalities in public street drains, they should call the IAM’s Civic Service Hotline at 2833 7676 to promptly report the issues so that follow-up arrangements can be made.

In addition, the Macao Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) expects that there is a high chance that a typhoon will form in the vast low-pressure area in the Philippines, which will affect Macao later this week. IAM has taken various measures to unclog the sewers, and will activate an emergency mechanism immediately once a rainstorm signal is issued.