Typhoon season is drawing close, the Judiciary Police has organized another “Storm Surge Evacuation plan in Low-lying areas during Typhoon” simulation drill on 30 June 2019, under the coordination of the Unitary Police Service, to facilitate a quick, safe and orderly evacuation during storm surge and typhoon.  In the meantime, simulation drills were also conducted among 6 gaming companies with the participation of the Judiciary Police and the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau to review their disaster management and evacuation procedures. 

Ongoing promotion of the evacuation plan                                              

The drill was conducted in Zone C (From Ponte 16 to R. Francisco António and moves east to NAPE) where Judiciary Police is responsible for during evacuation.  Over 100 people from the Judiciary Police took part in the drill including Director Mr. Sit Chong Meng, Deputy Directors Ms. Tou Sok Sam and Mr. Chan Kin Hong, department heads, the Evacuation Team and the Crisis Negotiation Team.  The Judiciary Police also invited 9 local associations to participate in the drill, together with the Property Management Business Association Macao and the Macau Real Estate Management Professional Technicians Association as observers.  Some citizens also took part in their own initiatives. 

The Judiciary Police will continue to conduct briefing sessions and simulation drills on the evacuation plan, said Director Mr. Sit Chong Meng, to facilitate a smooth and efficient evacuation.  Promotions of the plan will also carry out with local associations in the designated zone to explain the plan, the process and arrangement to the public.  In addition, trainings on crisis negation and first aids had been given out to the Evacuation Team to raise their abilities in the handling of emergencies. 

The Judiciary Police has designed a mobile app which is embedded with the information of all the residents, vendors and people in need in the designated zone.  The app allows real time updates of the evacuation process which enables the Evacuation Team to devise better operation plan.  The Judiciary Police hopes that with the new technology lives and property of citizens are better safeguard. 

Tests were run on the mobile app during the drill and the Judiciary Police visited vendors and residents in the zone and explained the evacuation plan.  Broadcasts were sounded via police vehicles to alert the public about the drill.  When the drill was completed, all involved entities of the Judiciary Police reviewed the work process and evaluated the comments made by the observers. 

In the meantime, 6 gaming companies with the Judiciary Police and the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau conducted drills which simulated evacuation from casinos.  Their disaster management mechanisms were also under review during the drills to test their responsiveness in the case of an emergency. 

Optimising the work flow

The Judiciary Police hopes that the drills have given the public a better understanding of the evacuation routes, the process and the necessary precautionary measures, and also an opportunity for casinos to review the disaster management mechanisms and evacuation process.  The Judiciary Police will continue to revise the evacuation plan via public feedbacks to better safeguard lives of citizens and tourists.