Public perception of typhoon signals and response in Macau: did disaster response improve between the 2017 Hato and 2018 Mangkhut typhoons?

Abstract

ABSTRACT In two successive years, 2017 and 2018, Macau suffered tremendously from strong typhoons, Hato and Mangkhut, respectively. Following Hato in 2017, a top officer who served as the observatory’s director, resigned amid public complaints over the late issuance of a higher warning signal during the typhoon. In light of this general disappointment in Macau’s disaster preparation and response procedures, we conducted an interview survey in downtown Macau. Our survey aimed to determine whether people felt any noticeable improvement in the authority’s disaster response during Mangkhut in 2018, compared to the response during Hato. The typhoons were of similar intensity and followed similar paths. The most notable difference between the two disasters was that Signal 8 was triggered seven hours earlier for Mangkhut than Hato, demonstrating a remarkable difference in the precaution and response taken by the authority. 18 months after Hato, we did not observe a significant investment in public infrastructure for flood protection. However, 88% of the respondents replied that they perceived that there was an improvement in the authority’s disaster response and management. Soft countermeasures, such as warning boards, evacuation drills, prompt signal issuance, and emergency responses, might be responsible for the favourable perception among the local residents.