Interviews by Rui Pastorin
As the fast-moving Super Typhoon “Ragasa” continues on its path, members of the public have been urged by the government to take early precautions and to keep a close eye on weather announcements.
The Post asked local shop owners and staff yesterday about their thoughts on the possible impact of Ragasa, and if they were taking any precautionary measures, with some expressing confidence in the local authorities’ measures and preparations based on the city’s previous brushes with extraordinary strong typhoons*.
Pipi is a thirty-something year-old saleswoman at a boutique. Given that her workplace is not located in an area usually affected by flooding, Pipi said that she was not worried about the approaching menace. Outside of work, Pipi said, she herself would gear up with essentials like enough food and water during the super typhoon, adding that she was confident in the preparations being made by not only the local government, but members of the public themselves.
Business owner Slando said that he and his team were “still kind of worried, but not like before” as the local government nowadays has precautions in place for this kind of situation given its previous experiences. He was also not too concerned about his business being affected by flooding and strong winds given that it is tucked in an alley. However, the 30-year-old said he was no doubt anxious about how the typhoon could impact business operations in the coming days, having mounting orders and tasks that he will need to handle himself as he will be giving his staff the day off depending on the situation.
In terms of preparations, he said that he feels that he had already gone through the worst of it, particularly pointing out the time of the 2018 Super Typhoon Mangkhut. “I think this time, it’s not that big of a problem for me”. However, he pointed out that businesses in the city’s San Kio district may have a different experience given that it is a flood-prone area.
San Kio district
At San Kio district, a staff member at a shop selling food and other daily necessities said that they have started taking precautions, adding that flood barriers were being put up at one of their nearby branches usually most affected by flooding.
In contrast, a part-business owner of a bakery acknowledged the risks posed by the approaching typhoon, but also talked about the owners’ many previous experiences in “preparing a lot but nothing happened”. The 32-year-old recalled how Macau was hit hard by Typhoon Hato in 2017, with the city then badly suffering from its effects.
With this in mind, he said that the government has since been paying more attention to measures towards prevention and flooding, the situation now better than it was years ago when he heard that the effects around the district were more serious. Besides government preparation, he also agreed that people are more prepared for this kind of situation than they were before. At the moment, what he is most concerned with is how the situation will be affecting the bakery’s daily sales.
Meanwhile, a co-owner of a coffee shop named Venus spoke of her worries about the possibility of flooding since they were unable to get flood barriers or have other measures to prevent it. At the moment, the 24-year-old feels that they have to just let it happen. “If it really will happen, then just let it happen. We can’t do anything”.
*Macau was hit by typhoon Hato in August 2017. According to official records, it was the strongest typhoon to affect Macau in 53 years, resulting in 10 deaths, at least 200 injuries, and an economic loss of 12.55 billion patacas, according to a Post online article on Saturday entitled “Macau observatory warns ‘Ragasa’ may become ‘super typhoon”. In September 2018, Macau was again hit by another super typhoon, this time called “Mangkhut”, that resulted in 40 injuries and financial losses of 1.55 billion patacas, summarised a Post article dated November 13, 2018.
Information about approaching Super Typhoon “Ragasa” is displayed on the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau’s (SMG) website last night. – Photo: Rui Pastorin
