To implement the important instructions from President Xi Jinping on flood prevention and disaster relief, resolute prevention of serious incidents, and effective safeguarding of the safety of people’s lives and property, and to follow the Chief Executive’s directives from the summer safety meeting on further strengthening Macao’s overall safety, ensuring general stability and harmony, and safeguarding the lives and property of the public, the Administration Committee on Municipal Affairs of the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) has convened a summer safety work meeting with the heads of various functional departments, instructing them to comprehensively reinforce summer disaster-prevention safety arrangements, effectively implement various risk prevention and mitigation measures, and intensify preventive inspections and remedial actions at locations and facilities prone to accidents, so as to spare no effort to ensure a safe living environment for the public. During the meeting, the various departments also highlighted the current implementation status and future plans for the safety in municipal markets and hawker zones, management of green areas, gardens and parks, assurance of food safety, and strengthening of community engagement to raise public awareness regarding disaster prevention.
Hazard detection and publicity to reinforce electrical safety awareness among hawkers
Safety in public markets and hawker zones focuses primarily on the safe use of electricity and fire prevention. IAM regularly collaborates with the Fire Services Bureau to step up fire and electrical safety inspections at hawker stalls, eliminating hazards such as improper electrical connections and circuit overloads. Furthermore, the frequency of inspections in older areas with aging infrastructure has been increased, and renovation works are being accelerated to improve overall safety conditions in those environments. Meanwhile, IAM has continuously conducted educational and publicity campaigns for hawkers, focusing on fire prevention and the safe use of electricity. Emphasis is placed on practical measures such as preventing electrical overloads and the necessity of unplugging electrical appliances before leaving the stalls or closing for the day, in order to promote the concept of disaster prevention at the grassroots level. IAM will implement comprehensive inspections regarding the safe use of electrical equipment across all hawker zones in Macao. A fire evacuation drill will also be conducted at the hawker zone in Rua de Fernão Mendes Pinto in collaboration with the Fire Services Bureau, Associação de Auxílio Mútuo de Vendilhões de Macau, and hawker representatives, to collectively strengthen emergency response capabilities.
Care and reinforcement measures to enhance wind resistance of trees
Regarding the management of green areas, gardens and parks, IAM has intensified tree inspections of the public areas across Macao in light of variable summer weather conditions and the approaching typhoon season. Systematic pruning, maintenance, and reinforcement work are being carried out to reduce the risk of trees falling during storms. Tree maintenance personnel continue to conduct comprehensive tree assessments in various districts, focusing particularly on pruning trees with overly dense canopies or unstable structures, as well as those located in high-traffic areas, and reinforcing support systems to reduce the canopy’s wind exposure. Furthermore, in-depth inspections of gardens, parks and recreational facilities are being conducted to identify potential hazards, while the awareness of outsourced workers regarding electric shock prevention is being reinforced to ensure the early detection and reporting of any irregularities.
Addressing extreme weather and mitigating food safety risks
As for food safety, continuous hygiene inspections have been conducted at restaurants, takeaway shops, and food and beverage establishments in tourist areas to respond to the stricter food safety requirements imposed by high summer temperatures. Since the start of summer, approximately 2,500 inspections have been carried out, with the primary focus on reminding members of the sector about purchasing food ingredients reasonably, avoiding excessive stockpiling that could lead to food spoilage, strictly separating raw and cooked foods and managing their respective storage temperatures. Furthermore, prior to the rainy and storm season, publicity campaigns targeting the sector have been stepped up via multiple communication channels to promote the response measures to be adopted during typhoons, aiming to strengthen the sector’s ability to react to unforeseen events. Concurrently, the emergency management system is optimised with refined contingency planning mechanisms to improve inter-departmental collaboration and ensure a rapid and effective response during emergencies.
Strengthening community coordination and jointly preventing accidents and risks
During the work meeting, heads of various departments and divisions also presented the reports on the immediate and long-term measures plans within their respective scope of functions that complement the existing typhoon and disaster prevention measures. Chao Wai Ieng, Chairman of the Administration Committee on Municipal Affairs, pointed out that particular emphasis should be placed on identifying and preventing public safety risks at facilities and public service points managed by IAM. Each department must fully assume its primary responsibilities, prepare emergency plans in advance, and adopt a proactive approach to prevention, ensuring an efficient and rapid response. At the same time, collaboration with community associations must be strengthened to enhance public safety outreach and education for the entire population. Systematic risk identification should be conducted based on people’s daily lives and local communities, in order to foster joint, integrated planning for disaster prevention, mitigation, and response. IAM will continue to advance its summer safety work, joining hands with members of the public and various organisations to build a safe and liveable city together.
