Hong Kong leader vows to ‘consider all things' for future extreme weather prep

South China Morning Post

3 days ago

Hong Kong's leader has pledged to 'take all things into consideration' for future extreme weather preparations after parents criticised last week's decision to suspend day schools over concerns about a rainstorm that subsided quicker than expected.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Tuesday defended the decision by Eric Chan Kwok-ki, the city's No 2 official and chair of the steering committee on handling extreme weather, and said such preparatory actions were 'absolutely correct'.
Last Thursday, the committee decided to suspend all day schools for the following day as some forecasts warned the city faced its 'fifth-largest daily rainfall' on record amid the impact of storm Danas.
In the past, such announcements were typically made on the morning of the suspension.
But the weather on Friday morning was calm, with limited rainfall, prompting backlash from parents who said the suspension had forced their children to miss out on their graduation ceremonies and other school events.
'[We] heard different opinions from the society concerning the steering committee's decision on suspending classes,' Lee told reporters ahead of his weekly Executive Council meeting on Tuesday.